Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Union Budget 2024-25 on 23 July 2024 that the government will establish working women hostels in collaboration with industries and create creches to boost women’s workforce participation.
However, the ruling DMK’s mouthpiece, their family-run media channel Kalaignar Seithigal, had to twist this to suit their narrative. They posted an image on their social media handle stating, “The Union Government following the Dravidian Model Project! Nirmala Sitharaman announced in the Union Budget that special hostels will be set up for working women across the country! Even before the announcement of the Union Government, the Dravidian Model Government led by Chief Minister M.K.Stalin is implementing the Thozhi hostel scheme for working women in Tamil Nadu!”
திராவிட மாடல் திட்டத்தை பின்பற்றும் ஒன்றிய அரசு!#NirmalaSitharaman #BudgetSession2024 #Budget2024 #ThozhiHostel #DravidianModel #KalaignarSeithigal pic.twitter.com/6BszSLItXb
— Kalaignar Seithigal (@Kalaignarnews) July 23, 2024
Is This Claim True?
Well, like all other claims made by the mouthpiece of the DMK, this also turns out to be false. Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party’s State Secretary SG Suryah busted this fake propaganda by sharing the truth. He shared data from August 2021, when the Ministry of Women and Child Development released the first instalment to the State government of TN for the construction of a hostel building for working women with a daycare centre by the Tamil Nadu Working Women Hostel Corporation Limited (TNWWHCL) in Tambaram District, TN. The document states the central government sanctioned a non-recurring grant of ₹7,00,50,000 (seven crore fifty thousand) as the central government’s share for the construction.
It further states that the grant for the construction of the hostel building represents 60% of the total approved cost of ₹11.67,50,000 (eleven crore sixty-seven lakh and fifty thousand rupees).
The first instalment of this amount was a sum of ₹3,50,25,000 (three crores fifty lakh and 25 thousand rupees) (50% central govt share) for the construction of the building.
The document also states that the Working Women Hostel is a sub-scheme of the Centrally Sponsored Umbrella Scheme “Mission for Protection & Empowerment for Women“. The central and state govt contribution has been calculated as a 60:40 ratio.
He wrote on his X handle, “Good joke. Thozhi Hostel in itself is a Modi Govt. introduced 60:40 scheme where 60% of funding is borne by Central Govt…Are you not ashamed? @Kalaignarnews??
Good Joke. தோழி Hostel in itself is a Modi Govt. introduced 60:40 scheme where’s 60% funding is borne by Central Govt…
கூச்சமே இல்லையா @Kalaignarnews ?? https://t.co/CJ8E4os4cP pic.twitter.com/wEXJfYUxwa
— Dr.SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) July 23, 2024
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