Thrissur: From repealing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) and restoring statehood of J&K to re-establishing the Planning Commission and putting into place a cooling-off period for retired judges and civil servants, the DMK’s manifesto for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls gives more than a glimpse of its ambition to play a larger role in national politics.
The manifesto, released Wednesday by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin at the DMK headquarters in Chennai, advocates repealing many key policy decisions of the BJP-led central government including the National Education Policy (NEP-2020), the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA-2019) and the proposal for ‘One Nation, One Election’.
The party also declared the names of its candidates for 21 parliamentary constituencies in the state.
Over the past year, Stalin has been making attempts to portray himself as a national leader. On his 70th birthday last March, he brought together leaders of opposition parties including the Congress, Samajwadi Party and the National Conference on a single stage.
A month after the event, Stalin chaired the All India Federation of Social Justice Conference. Conducted in hybrid mode, the conference witnessed the participation of 19 opposition parties. Then Jharkhand CM Hemant Soren, then Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot and then Bihar deputy CM Tejashwi Yadav were among the attendees. Addressing the conference, Stalin had called for unity against BJP and its ‘divisive politics’.
“The BJP which came to power in 2014 ruined India. The government headed by PM Modi didn’t fulfil any promises made by the party. If the BJP comes to power again, they will do anything to destroy the nation’s secular fabric and cooperative federal structure,” the DMK leader said while releasing the party’s 2024 Lok Sabha polls manifesto Wednesday.
He added that the INDIA bloc was formed to replace the ‘authoritarian’ BJP government.
The manifesto, he said, was prepared by a team comprising DMK MP Kanimozhi and state minister P. Thiaga Rajan, among others, who heard the demands of citizens from across Tamil Nadu.
“The DMK is a regional party, at the same time we are a part of the INDIA alliance. So, our manifesto expresses the interests of both the state and the nation. When we are advocating for a federal structure, then our manifesto should reflect that and it will address most of the issues of the country,” DMK MP T. Siva said after the release of the manifesto.
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What DMK manifesto proposes
The DMK’s manifesto proposes that statehood be restored to Jammu and Kashmir, followed immediately by elections for the state legislature. It adds that the livelihood of the people of J&K will be improved if a government of the INDIA bloc comes to power.
The party is also promising to prevent the implementation of a Uniform Civil Code (UCC) to preserve the secular nature of India as stated in the Preamble to the Constitution.
It adds that all ‘people-unfriendly laws’ introduced by the BJP government over the past decade will be reviewed immediately, if the INDIA bloc is voted to power.
Further, it also promises that education and healthcare, transferred to the Concurrent List during the Emergency, will be shifted back to the State List.
The DMK also proposes re-establishing the Planning Commission, which was dissolved by the BJP government and replaced by the NITI Aayog. The Planning Commission was formed to draft policy based on requests from state governments.
In addition to this, the DMK manifesto proposes a mandatory cooling-off period of two years to be introduced for retired judges and secretaries before they can join private companies or political parties.
The Dravidian party has also promised to waive off educational and farmers’ loans, besides providing a monthly entitlement of Rs 1,000 for women in every state, removal of toll booths on national highways, 50 percent reservation in central universities for students from respective states, interest-free loans up to Rs 10 lakh for women’s self-help groups, in addition to 33 percent reservation for women in Parliament and state assemblies.
The party says that the prices of petrol, diesel, and LPG cylinders will be set at Rs 75, Rs 65, and Rs 500, respectively, if the INDIA bloc is voted to power.
Further, the DMK’s poll manifesto focuses on curtailing the power of governors in every state. Section 361 of the Indian Constitution, which provides special exemption for Governors from legal proceedings, will be removed to ensure that Governors are also subject to judicial scrutiny, it says. The manifesto adds that if voted to power, the INDIA bloc would also initiate actions to appoint governors with the consultation of chief ministers as recommended. Amendments will be made to ensure state governments, elected by the people, will appoint Vice-Chancellors to universities, rather than Governors, it adds.
Kachchatheevu to NEET: Long-pending demands find space
The DMK manifesto echoed many demands made by the Tamil Nadu government over the past few years. For instance, the DMK said measures will be taken to reclaim Kachchatheevu island to ensure India’s security and to protect the welfare of the fishermen, if the INDIA bloc is voted to power. Reclamation of the island, currently under Sri Lankan control, has been a long-pending demand of the Tamil Nadu government with Stalin writing multiple letters to the Centre on different occasions for the same.
The island, located in the Palk Strait about 24 km northeast of Tamil Nadu’s Ramanathapuram and approximately 22 km southwest of Delft Islands in Sri Lanka, has been a bone of contention between the India and Sri Lankan governments.
Owing to rich marine resources, fishermen of both nations are dependent on water surrounding the island, which led to the arrests of Indian fishermen. With the retrieval of the island, the Tamil Nadu government seeks a permanent solution to this issue.
Another major promise by the party is an exemption, for students from Tamil Nadu, from the NEET exam. The DMK, which has been a vocal critic of the exam, has alleged that this pan India pre-medical entrance test is not ‘merit’ oriented. Tamil Nadu has witnessed multiple instances of deaths of NEET aspirants by suicide over the past few years.
Apart from these, DMK is also promising the facilitation of citizenship for Sri Lankan Tamils living in India, the establishment of Tamil departments across all universities in India, and making Tamil an optional language in all central government examinations.
DMK retains 10 sitting MPs
On Wednesday, the DMK also declared its candidates for 21 of Tamil Nadu’s 39 Lok Sabha seats. The list has three women.
According to the seat-sharing agreement struck with its alliance partners, DMK allocated 9 seats to the Congress, 2 each to CPI, CPI(M), and VCK, and one each to IUML, MDMK, and KDMK (who will contest on DMK symbol).
While the DMK list accommodates 10 sitting MPs including senior leaders Kanimozhi Karunanidhi and T.R. Baalu, prominent faces such as Goutham Sigamani, sitting Kallakurichi MP and former minister K. Ponmudy’s son, and Dindigul MP P. Velusamy, who won by the largest margin of more than 5 lakhs votes in the 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
Retained MPs include Dayanidhi Maran (Chennai Central), Kalanidhi Veeraswamy (North Chennai), Thamizhachi Thangapandian (Chennai South), T.R. Baalu (Sriperumbudur), C.N. Annadurai (Tiruvannamalai), Kanimozhi (Thoothukudi), and A. Raja (Nilgiris).
Other candidates declared by the party are K. Selvam (Kancheepuram), Kathir Anand (Vellore), A. Mani (Dharmapuri), Dharani Vendhan (Arani), Malai Arasan (Kallakurichi), Ganapathi Rajkumar (Coimbatore), Jagathrakshakan (Arakkonam), Selvaganapathy (Salem), Eswarasamy (Pollachi), K.N. Arun Nehru (Perambalur), Murasoli (Thanjavur), Thanga Tamilselvan (Theni), Dr Rani (Erode), and Prakash (Erode).
(Edited by Amrtansh Arora)
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