Tami Nadu: CM Stalin Announces Rs 1,000 As Pongal Cash Gift After Criticism From Opposition

In a recent announcement, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin has declared that eligible ration card cardholders in the state will receive an additional Rs 1,000 along with the traditional Pongal gift hamper, as reported by The New Indian Express.

Initially comprising one kilogram each of raw rice and sugar, as well as a full sugarcane, the gift hampers have now been enhanced with the monetary component.

The CM specified that government employees, income tax payers, Public Sector Undertaking workers, sugar cardholders, and white cardholders (non-commodity holders) are ineligible for the Rs 1,000 cash assistance.

Furthermore, Stalin assured that the Rs 1,000 honorarium for women would be credited to their bank accounts on 10 January, preceding the Pongal festival.

This comes after various political parties made demands to provide cash assistance to the ration card holders along with the Pongak gift hampers. 

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and BJP state president K Annamalai have voiced dissatisfaction, asserting that the financial aid should be increased.

Both parties have also called for additional relief measures, with AIADMK urging Rs 5,000 assistance for ration cardholders in districts affected by heavy rains and oil spill-impacted fishermen families in Ennore.

Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) founder S Ramadoss joined the chorus, demanding a Rs 50 hike in the sugarcane procurement price.

Last year, Annamalai had said that workers of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) were interfering in the distribution of tokens to beneficiaries of the Pongal gift hamper.

He had said that a video has surfaced in which people of Ponnaiya Rajapuram area of Coimbatore district alleged that all the Pongal gift tokens were given to the DMK members and in Thirumullaivoyal, according to information from social media, the people are being forced to collect their tokens from the local DMK councillors.

Further, he had said that the DMK government has gone to the extent of penalising the ration shop workers, instead of reigning in its own party-men who are the troublemakers.