In a recent development that has sparked controversy, the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government has come under heavy criticism for naming the women’s rights programme after the late leader M. Karunanidhi.
The implementation of the Monthly Grant Scheme for women beneficiaries is scheduled to commence on 15 September 2023, coinciding with the birth anniversary of the Dravidian leader C. N. Annadurai.
Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party State President Annamalai’s accusations from last year have resurfaced alleging that the DMK government.
In the statement released by K Annamalai, he stated that the central government has been allocating huge amounts of funds to the states every year for the development of Scheduled Castes. Every year several thousands of crores of funds are given to the states for the implementation of central government schemes to benefit the people of the Scheduled Caste communities.
In this situation, out of the funds allocated for the SCSP scheme, ₹2900 crores remain unused since the previous regime (2016-2021) and during the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam regime from 2021-2022, the government has not spent ₹2418 crores out of the allocated as reported by Indian Express. In addition, he stated that he was shocked to hear that the Tamil Nadu government had not spent ₹10,466 crores out of the ₹16,442 crores allocated by the central government to the brothers and sisters of Scheduled Caste communities in Tamil Nadu as per the information till December 2023.
He also stated that many basic needs like educational rehabilitation schemes, employment opportunities, libraries, student hostels were not fulfilled. The complete non-utilisation of the allocated funds shows the ruling government’s cowardice and gross indifference towards the backward sections of the society.
He stated that some of the problems faced by Tamil Nadu Scheduled brothers and sisters on a daily basis are due to lack of sufficient staff in the State Scheduled Tribes Commission and the inadequate allocation of funds from the state government.
In his tweet, Selvakumar, the vice president of Tamil Nadu Bharatiya Janata Party’s Industrial Cell, expressed his views on the scheme, suggesting that it should be renamed as “Pradhan Mantri Magalir Urimai Thogai Thittam” to better reflect its genuine purpose and intent.
மோடி அரசு அளிக்கும் நிதியில் செயல்படுத்தபடும் மகளிர் உரிமை திட்டத்திற்கு துளிகூட கூச்சமே இல்லாமல் கருணாநிதி பெயர் வைத்துள்ளது சிந்திக்கும் திறனற்ற திமுக அரசு.
உடனடியாக இந்த திட்டத்திற்கு “பிரதமரின் மகளிர் உரிமை தொகை திட்டம்” என பெயர் மாற்றம் செய்திட வேண்டும்.
கடந்த பிப்ரவரி… pic.twitter.com/YoUX76twSC
— Selva Kumar (@Selvakumar_IN) July 30, 2023
Seeman, the chief coordinator of Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK), also questioned the involvement of former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Karunanidhi in the ₹ 1,000 Urimai Thogai scheme for women, stating, “What authority does Kalaignar have over this scheme?”
It is notable that the DMK government’s announcement of a ₹7000 crore allocation in the budget 2023-24 for the Monthly Assistance Scheme For Women sparked outrage from all sides, as the money would not be enough to fulfill the DMK government’s election promise of providing assistance to all 2.2 crore ration cards.
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