Centre least bothered about Tamils, Tamil pride: DMK leader Baalu

DMK leader T R Baalu accused the BJP-led Centre on Friday of meting out stepmotherly treatment to Tamil Nadu by being oblivious to its demands for a series of development projects and assistance to cope with the brunt of natural disasters.

Participating in the debate in the Lok Sabha on the Motion of Thanks on the President's Address, Baalu also said governors in opposition-ruled states lose no opportunity to belittle the elected governments and have little regard for the Constitution.

''Many governors think there is a halo behind their head. They won't care about what is mentioned in the Constitution. They feel they are above everyone else. One governor only read the last line of his address to the state Assembly,'' he said.

Baalu said some governors lose no opportunity to belittle the elected governments in the states and even compete with the opposition parties on this count.

The DMK leader sought a higher budgetary allocation for Tamil Nadu and the inclusion of petroleum products under the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

''We have been demanding policies and programmes for the development of our own state, Tamil Nadu, pertaining to the exemption from the NEET, a higher allocation for Tamil Nadu, flood relief for the state, an AIIMS at Madurai and the approval for the second phase of metro rail in Chennai,'' the former Union minister said.

He said Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin had sought Rs 37,000 crore in assistance to deal with the devastation caused by heavy rain in four districts of the southern state in December.

Baalu said he met Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah in this regard, but no help was forthcoming.

''The government is least bothered about Tamils and the pride of Tamils,'' he said.

The DMK leader said the prime minister had laid the foundation stone for an All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at Madurai, but nothing more than a wall has been built at the project site.

The Union health minister had told Parliament that classes have started at the AIIMS at a medical college in Ramnathapuram, about 120 km from Madurai.

Baalu said the Sethusamudram project was the dream of leaders, such as C N Annadurai, M Karunanidhi and K Kamaraj, and nothing has been done on it despite the government telling the Supreme Court that there was no manmade structure at the site.