AIADMK releases manifesto, promises national poverty eradication scheme

Chennai: The ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu on Tuesday promised a slew of measures in its election manifesto, including a national poverty eradication initiative that will be named after the late Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa.

Releasing the manifesto for the general election at a press conference here, AIADMK coordinator and Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister O Panneerselvam said the party would "vigorously pursue" the Amma National Poverty Eradication Initiative (ANPEI).

"Based on the experience already gained by the AIADMK government in this regard, a direct transfer of Rs 1,500 per month to the targeted population of the poor and deprived (people below poverty line, destitute women, widows without income, differently-abled, landless agricultural labourers, rural and urban manual labourers, destitute senior citizens etc) should not be difficult to implement," the party said. Jayalalithaa is addressed as 'Amma' (mother) by her supporters and the ruling AIADMK has been implementing welfare measures under the brand Amma initiative, including the popular Amma subsidised canteens.

Panneerselvam, flanked by party co-coordinator and Chief Minister K Palaniswami, along with senior leaders and ministers, read out the salient features of the manifesto.

Reiterating the party's stand, Panneerselvam said AIADMK would press for the release of the seven convicts in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case and strive for the scrapping of the National Entrance-cum-Eligibility Test for medical admissions.

"AIADMK will urge the Government of India and the president to give due direction to the Governor of Tamil Nadu for release of seven Tamil convicts as ordered by the Supreme Court and approved by the cabinet of Tamil Nadu government," he said.

In September 2018, the cabinet had recommended to Governor Banwarilal Purohit the release of Murugan, Santhan, Perarivalan, Jayakumar, Ravichandran, Robert Payas and Nalini, all serving life in prison for their involvement in the killing of former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi at an election rally here in 1991 by an LTTE suicide bomber.

On the Sri Lankan Tamils issue, AIADMK said it would press the Centre to take up the issue of "massacre" of civilian Tamils in the island republic during the peak of hostilities, with the International Criminal Court at the Hague.

Further, the party would urge the Centre to implement river interlinking programmes like the Cauvery-Godaveri linking project.

The manifesto said AIADMK would urge the Centre to waive education loans of students and also urge the government to come up with a firm policy to waive the loans obtained by small and medium farmers in the country.