No saffron agenda from Delhi will succeed in TN as long as we stay united: Stalin

CUDDALORE: As long as the Dravidian, Marxist, Gandhian and Ambedkar ideologies stay united in Tamil Nadu, no saffron agenda from Delhi (referring to BJP and RSS ideologies) will succeed in Tamil Nadu, said chief minister M K Stalin.Speaking after inaugurating the centenary auditorium with a life-size statue of the late social justice warrior L Ilayaperumal, constructed at a cost of Rs 6.39 crore at Lalpuram in Chidambaram, Stalin pointed out that leaders of the Dravidian, Marxist, Gandhian and Ambedkarite movements were on the stage united. “This unity is Tamil Nadu. Thirumavalavan (VCK President Thol Thirumavalavan) emphasised this, and I reaffirm it. When Tamil Nadu is united like this, no saffron agenda from Delhi will succeed here," he said.Stalin said the Dravidian model govt implemented the highest number of welfare schemes for the scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities. “I say with pride and confidence that in the history of Tamil Nadu, it is the Dravidian model govt that implemented the highest number of welfare schemes for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe communities. But is that enough? No. To build a society of self-respect, we must continue our long journey — and we are. That’s why we’ve decided to remove the word ‘colony’ from govt documents,” he said.“We’ve requested the Prime Minister that the caste suffix ‘in’ used to denote SC/ST in official names be changed to ‘ir’ as a mark of respect. We’ve renamed school and college hostels as ‘Social Justice Hostels’, removing caste identifiers," Stalin said.Stalin admitted that everything would not change overnight. “The journey toward social liberation is long, and it takes time. But change will come. It will come. And I, Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin, will be the one to bring that change. The Dravidian model govt will play its role with absolute commitment," he said.He said the govt launched the ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ (Stalin with You) scheme to act swiftly on the public’s petitions on late chief minister and Congress stalwart P Kamaraj’s birth anniversary. “Before the 2021 assembly elections, I promised under the ‘Stalin in your constituency’ scheme that I would resolve petitions within 100 days. After becoming chief minister, I created a separate department named ‘Chief minister in your constituency’ to fulfil that promise. Because of that, people trusted the govt and began submitting petitions. To support that, we created another department - ‘Chief minister’s address’. Through the ‘CM with people’ initiative, we’ve conducted more than 5,000 camps across Tamil Nadu and resolved lakhs of petitions," he said.He said the govt launched the next phase of the ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ (Stalin with You) campaign. “Around 10,000 camps will be held throughout the state. Volunteers will visit every household and inform people about the time and place of the camps. Applications can be submitted for 46 govt services, including the Rs 1,000/month Kalaignar women’s entitlement scheme. If eligible women haven’t received the amount yet, they can apply at the camp, and it will be provided. The purpose of this initiative is to take the govt to where the people are. Govt officers and officials will now come looking for you. Health camps will also be held alongside. This is what defines the Dravidian model govt — identifying the people's needs and solving them," he said.A release from the DIPR later in the evening said Stalin announced that a new bus stand at Rs 20 crore would be established at Chidambaram, a new residential school for tribal students would be set up at Ariyankuppam in Cuddalore district, a new Srimushnam taluk would be carved out from Kattumannarkoil taluk to serve the Cauvery delta region better, a boating jetty including pathways and other facilities would be set up at a cost of Rs 10 crore at Veeranam lake, and a non-leather footwear components manufacturing cluster would be developed in 150 acres at Sakkarakuppam at a cost of Rs 75 crore to provide employment opportunities for women from Cuddalore, Kurinjipadi and Panruti constituencies.