In yet another U-Turn made by the DMK government, the ‘accomplished’ Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan on Sunday (June 20) announced that it is not possible to cut the petrol and diesel price, something the DMK had promised in its manifesto.
Speaking to reporters, Palanivel Thiagarajan said that the DMK government right from the time of Karunanidhi to the present Chief Minsiter MK Stalin goes by the principle of ‘doing what they say and saying what they do’. He said that they have fulfilled the promise of giving ₹4000 as cash to people as relief despite the fiscal condition costing the government around ₹9000 crores. He added that a white paper on the Tamil Nadu’s financial status would be released soon in July.
Adding further the Palanivel Thiagarajan said that it was impossible to reduce VAT on petrol and dieses prices given the current situation. He went on to shift the blame on the Central government saying that they had increased the taxes from ₹10 in 2014 to ₹32.09 now. He said that Centre was collecting taxes in the form of cess and surcharge and keeping the revenue to itself without giving 1 paisa of the collections to the state.
He gave an astounding justification for the DMK government in not reducing the VAT saying that doing so might be seen as supportive of the Central government’s move which would be an injustice to Tamil Nadu people.
The Minister said that they are not reducing the tax now and that they they will reduce the price any time during the 5 year term.
This is not the first promise that the DMK has faulted on. Many in Tamil Nadu have complained that they have not received the cash assistance provided by the government. On June 19, Health Minister Ma. Subramanian had said that since the National Eligible Entrance Test (NEET) for medical admissions continues to exist, the students should prepare for the exam this year. The DMK had promised in its manifesto that NEET exam would be cancelled and MK Stalin in his election speeches had said that as soon as the DMK comes to power, the first signature that he would be giving is for the cancellation of NEET exam.
Opposition parties like the AIADMK and BJP has lashing out at the DMK for misleading people and going back on whatever they had promised.
BJP Tamil Nadu Spokesperson SG Suryah said that Tamil people have once again been cheated by the DMK with its empty promises.
தி.மு.க-வை நம்ப வேண்டாம் என தலைதலையாய் அடித்துக் கொண்டோம். மீண்டும் ஒரு முறை நம்பி ஏமாந்த தமிழினம். தி.மு.க தேர்தல் அறிக்கையில் மாநில வரியில் இருந்து பெட்ரோல் ₹5 மற்றும் டீசல் ₹4 குறைக்கப்படும் என்ற உறுதியை தற்போது செய்யவே முடியாது என தமிழக நிதி அமைச்சர் கையை விரித்து விட்டார். pic.twitter.com/0umo4KUqLk
— SG Suryah (@SuryahSG) June 20, 2021
AIADMK spokesperson Kovai Sathyan said that the Tamil Nadu Finance Minister was a living example of ’empty vessels making more noise’. He asked Palanivel Thiagarajan to deliver instead of playing blame game and asked him to quit if he can’t.
https://t.co/gmvYT5fWeG minister don't become a living example of"empty vessels makes more noise " as a Dravidian stock let me say this நிறைகுடம் நீர் தளும்பாது. Deliver results than playing the blame game,if you can't pls Quit. @ptrmadurai @AIADMKOfficial @CMOTamilnadu https://t.co/xQR6Psvnik
— Kovai Sathyan (@KovaiSathyan) June 20, 2021
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