DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin
| Photo Credit: Siva Saravanan S
DMK president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Sunday, April 14, 2024, disputed the claim that the BJP government at the Centre had given funds to the tune of ₹10.76 lakh crore for the development of the State in the past 10 years.
Describing this claim as “utter lies” Mr. Stalin, on social media platform X, said that there were two aspects to the funds given by the Centre. One was the funds given directly by the Centre to the States — this included devolution of the States’ share of Central taxes and grants to be provided to States for schemes, as per the recommendations of the Finance Commission, he noted. As per this, the Centre had given ₹18.5 lakh crore to Uttar Pradesh. Tamil Nadu, which has given several lakh crores as taxes, has got only ₹5.5 lakh crore, Mr. Stalin pointed out.
The CM said the second aspect was the fund allocation for the schemes implemented by the Centre directly in a State. Mr. Stalin alleged that in this aspect, the BJP has shown false accounts. “They have included ₹1,960 crore for Madurai AIIMS, where there is no development. They have not allocated any funds for Phase II of the Chennai Metro Rail project and have shown the project cost of ₹63,246 crore,” he said. They have also included ₹2 lakh crore for the Sagarmala project (industrialisation proposals along the coast), he said. “Will the BJP Ministers come forward and explain how much of these funds have been spent in Tamil Nadu and how much has been released,” Mr. Stalin asked.
“Another lie is that they have shown the loans availed of by small traders in Tamil Nadu from banks to the tune of ₹2.5 lakh crore as generous funds granted,” he said. “How many lies can the country withstand? Aren’t our ears in need of mercy?,” Mr. Stalin asked.
T.N. tops country in export of textile goods
Meanwhile, the DMK citied a Central government statistic to counter remarks by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Union Ministers and the AIADMK on the growth of Tamil Nadu.
The data released by NIRYAT – National Import Export Record for the Yearly Analysis of Trade, which functions under the Department of Commerce, Ministry of Trade and Industry shows that in 2022-23, Tamil Nadu was the leading State for exports of textile goods accounting for 22.58% of the country’s exports, the DMK pointed out in a statement.
The State has also topped in readymade garments and leather goods exports, it said.
The statistics are a big victory for Chief Minister Stalin and the ‘Dravidian model’ of governance and show that the Opposition leaders are peddling lies, the DMK said.
