CHENNAI: AIADMK interim general secretary and former Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday said that the base for the Dravidian model of development was the AIADMK rule for 32 years in the state.
He was speaking at a public meeting of the party held at Sivakasi against the rising prices of essential commodities in the state. The senior leader said that it was the policy of the previous AIADMK governments that had led to the increase in gross enrolment rate in schools. The former Chief Minster said that this was due to the creation of new schools and colleges in the state, including Medical colleges.
Edappadi K. Palaniswami said that the DMK government had cheated the people of the state through its unkept poll promises and added that in addition to rising prices of essential commodities, the people of the state have to confront an increased power tariff as also hike in property tax. The former chief minister charged that the DMK regime under M.K. Stalin has made living worse for the people of the state through their anti-people policies and programmes.
He said that the electricity tariff was increased in the range of 12 per cent to 52 per cent and would further increase by 6 per cent every year. EPS, in a sarcastic note, said that electricity used to give a shock to the people when they touched it but after the DMK government has come to power, the power bills are giving shockers to the public.
The AIADMK leader said that by increasing property tax, the state government has not even spared the people living in huts and termed the action "sucking the blood of poor".
He charged that the state government has cheated even the educated state government employees and wondered when the Dearness Allowance of 4 per cent announced by the Central government would reach the state government employees.
The former Chief Minister said that the state government has constituted 38 commissions to study various issues and wondered as to what the duty of bureaucrats and the ministers was.