DMK President and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin while speaking at the DMK Mupperum Vizha in Coimbatore said that the BJP will fry fritters with just the mouth (‘vaayala vada suduradhu’ which roughly translates to making empty promises) and that the DMK MPs will fry the BJP’s arrogance in Parliament.
His remarks came in response to the BJP taking a dig at the DMK and its ally MPs for not being able to do any constructive work in the Parliament while spending time in the canteens eating vadais.
While the Narendra Modi government has returned to power for the third time fulfilling most of the its core promises of the 2019 manifesto, the focus has now shifted to the DMK’s empty promises which remains unfulfilled.
Here are some of the ‘vadais’ fried by the DMK with just their mouth for the 2021 Assembly elections.
1. Promise No. 159 – Graduate education loans for students from schools in Tamil Nadu, who are under 30 years of age, who are unable to pay it back within a year will be repaid by the government.
It has been more than three years and no action has been taken to waive off education loans of graduate students.
2. Promise No. 181 – Part time art, music and physical education teachers will be considered for permanent employment in the Department of School Education.
Despite teachers protesting, no action has been taken on this too.
3. Promise No. 309 – The Old Pension Scheme will be implemented again, replacing the New Pension Scheme.
The then Tamil Nadu Finance Minister PTR Palanivel Thiagarajan, in 2021, informed the Assembly that due to the state’s precarious financial condition, a choice couldn’t be made regarding reinstating the old pension scheme. He expressed concerns that providing everything for free to everyone, including pensions, could lead to financial insolvency. Furthermore, he equated pensions to freebies, which infuriated teachers and government employees.
4. Promise No. 311 – Equal wage for teachers with Rs 8000 basic pay has been requested for several years. DMK will provide periodic pay for these 20,000 teachers. Incentives will be provided to teachers who have completed higher education during employment.
In December 2022, the Tamil Nadu government school secondary-grade (SG) teachers went on an indefinite hunger strike demanding equal pay for equal work. Government school teacher have been on a protest multiple times over their anger and frustration that the ruling DMK government has not fulfilled its poll promises despite being in power for the past 3+ years.
5. Promise No. 221 – The existing system of bimonthly payment of electricity bills will be replaced with a monthly payment system to ease the financial burden on people. This scheme will enable a user household to save upto 6000 rupees (for <1000 units) annually.
Let alone monthly power bills, the DMK government has given a shock treatment to the people of Tamil Nadu with exorbitant power bills. Power tariffs were hiked in September 2022. Many residents in urban areas have seen their power bills burning their pockets paying double or triple the amount they used to. More than 900,000 MSME (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises) units in Tamil Nadu participated in a strike to protest against the state’s electricity tariff hike.
6. Promise No. 503 – To reduce the financial burden on low to middle income group, cooking gas cylinders distributed to ration card holders will be subsidised by 100 rupees (for one cylinder alone).
The BJP government at the Centre which did not even make such a promise had slashed the LPG cylinder price by ₹100 on 8 March 2024. On the other hand, this has turned out to be one mega vadai suttufied by the DMK.
7. Promise No. 163 – Government will provide tablet devices to students studying higher secondary schools and colleges with 4G/5G connectivity and 10GB data connection.
No tablet. Only vadai.
8. Promise No. 504 – DMK will reduce the petrol price by 5 rupees and diesel by 4 rupees per litre each
Just days after assuming power, the then ‘accomplished’ Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan announced that it was not possible to cut the petrol and diesel price. While the price of the petrol was slashed by ₹3, not even a whisper has been made about reducing diesel price.
9. Promise No. 75 – DMK will increase the support price from 2000 rupees (under present ADMK govt) to 2500 rupees per quintal. Similarly, for sugarcane, the support price will be increased to 4000 rupees.
In March 2024, MRK Panneerselvam assured the Tamil Nadu Assembly that the DMK’s poll promise to provide a Minimum Support Price (MSP) of ₹2,500 per quintal for paddy will be realised within the next two years. But we all know that is just another special vadai for farmers. With respect to sugarcane, reports revealed that DMK office bearers at the district level are interfering in the sugarcane procurement from farmers and siphoning off the profit from them leaving the farmers disgruntled.
10. Promise No. 152 – Old pension scheme for transport workers
Like the teachers, state government bus drivers too have went on multiple strikes demanding the DMK to fulfill its poll promise. In January 2024, transport workers went on an indefinite strike amidst Pongal rush, demanding restoration of the old pension scheme and a revised dearness allowance for pensioners. Retired employees of the Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation held a sit-in protest in September 2024 outside the TNSTC General Manager’s Office in Vannarpet, Madurai demonstrating against the Tamil Nadu Government’s delay in fulfilling its promises.
11. Promise No. 185 – A massive scheme to provide 10 lakh jobs each year and 50 lakh jobs for youngsters at the end of 2025-26 will be implemented from 2021. A new institution called STEP – State Board of Skill Training and Employment Promotion will be established.
A big fat vadai.
12. Promise No. 153 – Ad hoc and contract workers working in public sector entities and government agencies for more than 10 years will be considered for permanent employment.
On 10 October 2023, the Chennai city police apprehended over 700 contract nurses participating in a demonstration outside the Directorate of Medical Services (DMS) Campus. Their protest centered on seeking job regularization. During the protest, some nurses claimed to have been forcefully removed by male police officers, and a few even experienced fainting spells. The nurses resolved to persist with their hunger strike until their demands were addressed. From nurses to teachers to transport worker, it’s the same vadai.
13. Promise No. 405 – In selective places like Thiruthani, Sholingar, Thiruneermalai, Trichy Malaikottai, Tiruchenkodu, winch lines for cable cars will be laid to carry people to hill temples.
Nothing done on this front. But they’ve concentrated their efforts to eradicate Sanatana Dharma aka Hinduism.
14. Promise No. 331 – Kalaignar Canteens will be started in 500 locations in the first phase to provide food at a subsidised cost for poor, underprivileged people across the state.
Forget opening new ones, the existing Amma Canteens have been dying a slow death. The canteens that once flourished are now faced with declining income projections, budget inconsistencies, and difficulties in managing expenditures, particularly in terms of compensating the staff, despite the Corporation’s claim of possessing a surplus of ₹315 crore in its capital account
15. Promise No. 89 – Conservation of lakes and ponds Scheme at 10,000 crore budget, under the direct supervision of Chief Minister
Vadai.
16. Promise No. 90 – Build Check Dams at a cost 2000 crore rupees
Same Vadai.
17. Promise No. 116 – 2 lakh new houses for fishermen.
Even karuvaadu (dried fish) can turn into a fish, but this promise will remain a vadai.
So, before accusing the BJP of frying fritters with the mouth, Stalin should revisit the DMK’s 2021 manifesto atleast before the 2026 elections and see if some of these vadais can be refried again for 2026.
Vallavaraayan is a political writer.
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