Confident that "young leader Rahul Gandhi will become PM": DMK chief

DMK president M K Stalin Saturday accused Prime Minister Narendra Modi of launching the Rs 6,000 per annum assistance to marginal farmers under the PM Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme with an eye on the Lok Sabha polls. Alleging that it has become Modi's habit to claim there was a danger to religion if he was targeted, Stalin said his party was confident that "young leader Rahul Gandhi will become the Prime Minister." Addressing a poll rally here, he praised the Rs 6,000 per month Minimum Income Support Scheme of the Congress party and said the BJP-led NDA's Kisan plan was however announced for the sake of the polls.

"Prime Minister Modi made the Rs 6,000 assistance announcement (under the Kisan scheme) with an eye on the polls. Has any one got the assistance,?" he asked. Stalin said Modi also made several promises in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election and wanted to know if such assurances had been fulfilled. Training his guns on the AIADMK regime, which, he said, was in power for eight long years, Stalin assured that "Makkal Nala Paniyalargal," (Workers for People's Welfare), who were dismissed from service by the incumbent government would be reinstated. "We are going to appoint 50 lakh women as Workers for People's Welfare," he said.

The DMK had in its manifesto promised that it would press the Centre to emulate its model and appoint 50 lakh women across the country as welfare workers. Seeking votes for DMK's ally Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi candidate D Ravikumar, Stalin assured Rs 4,000 per tonne for sugarcane and Rs 2,500 for paddy as Minimum Support Price per quintal. VCK is contesting in the DMK's rising sun symbol in Villupuram Lok Sabha seat. Stalin said that steps would be taken to ensure that cane farmers got their remittances within 100 days for the produce procured from them.

Both the Centre's Fair and Remunerative Price and the State Advised Price for cane would be remitted to farmers through cooperative, State-run and private sugar mills, he said. The Tamil Nadu government had last year decided to switch to a new pricing policy (from the SAP) to ensure better remuneration for farmers. The DMK chief also assured steps to roll back the hike in cable television charges. Hitting out at Chief Minister K Palaniswami for taking pride in being a farmer, Stalin alleged that "Palaniswami claims that Stalin is against a farmer ruling Tamil Nadu.

A farmer can helm the state.. I will support. But Palaniswami is not a farmer, he is a poisonous gas." Alleging that Palaniswami did not even visit the cyclone Gaja hit people in the Cauvery delta region for a week, he asked: "People are protesting against the Salem-Chennai expressway project. Is Palaniswami, who is continuously allowing land acquisition for the project a farmer...?" In the morning Stalin sought votes here while on his routine morning walk. MNPs were recruited during the DMK regime and the party had said years ago that it was aimed at providing employment to rural youth.

After AIADMK assumed power in 2011, the posts were disbanded and the matter reached the Madras High Court and later the Supreme Court. Modi in February launched the ambitious Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Nidhi scheme at Gorakhpur in Uttar Pradesh. In its interim budget 2019-20, the Centre had announced the PM-KISAN scheme which envisages transfer of Rs 6,000 per year in three instalments to 12 crore small and marginal farmers having upto two hectares land.

(With inputs from agencies.)