More than two crore rice ration card holders in Tamil Nadu will receive a Pongal gift of Rs 3,000 ahead of the harvest festival, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced on Sunday. The move comes ahead of the assembly elections in the state. Chief Minister Stalin said this Rs 3,000 cash gift would be in addition to the state government’s Pongal gift hamper with rice, sugar and sugarcane and the regular gifts of dhoti and sari.
The Pongal gift would cost the government more than Rs 6,900 crores. The present term of the government, led by the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has been marked by a series of cash assistance schemes. Over a crore women are being paid a monthly assistance of Rs 1,000. Similar assistance is also being given for students who passed out of government schools and are pursuing college education.
On Saturday, a new pension scheme was announced for state government employees that would ensure 50 per cent of the last drawn pay as a pension with a 10 per cent contribution.
Meanwhile, the Sports Department under Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin has been rewarding sports achievers with cash prizes and nurturing promising talents with cash and infrastructure support.
Opposition Slams Pongal Gift
The key opposition All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) slammed the ruling DMK for double standards, citing its demand for a Rs 5,000 Pongal gift to the AIADMK government five years ago, when it (the DMK) was in opposition.
In a post on X, AIADMK leader I S Inbadurai said, “The mouth that once said it would give five thousand for Pongal is now giving only three thousand!. The tongue that promised to bring back the old pension scheme and came to power, securing votes of government employees, has started deducting from salaries, returning it with interest, and then boasting about it! O Lord, how many tongues have you given them?”
Elections in Tamil Nadu are set to be held later this year. The ruling DMK and its allies aim for a second consecutive win.
The AIADMK has revived ties with the BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party). Actor Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) is also making its electoral debut, hoping to shake up Tamil Nadu’s electoral landscape.
