DMK Would Call Its Padayatra 'My Son, My Grandson', Instead Of 'My Land, My People', Says Annamalai

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president, K Annamalai's padayatra, En Mann En Makkal entered the Pudukkottai district today (2 August) at Thirumayam, after covering the Ramanathpuram and Sivaganga districts.

Writing about his interaction with the people of Thirumayam, he said that the town is famous for Jallikattu and the people are happy with the Modi government for supporting it, unlike the Congress.

Further, he stated that he was happy that he could meet beneficiaries of schemes like PM Awas Yojana, Jal Jeevan Mission, PM Kisan and PM Ujjwala. He said that every beneficiary is 'Modi's address in Tamil Nadu' and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government had done nothing except put its sticker on central government schemes.

During the Sivaganga leg of the padayatra, he interacted with potters in Manamadurai, Prabhakaran, an ex-army soldier who is recovering from injuries to his legs and a descendant of Rani Velu Nachiyar.

The Manamadurai pottery got the Geographical Indication (GI) tag earlier this year.

Speaking about the family of former Union Finance Minister and Sivaganga MP, P Chidambaram, Annamalai said that it would be hard to find any other family in which three persons have been raided by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) for three different scams, i.e., INX Media, visas to Chinese nationals and the Saradha chit fund scam.

Criticising the DMK, he said that if it had undertaken the padayatra, its name would have been, 'En Magan, En Peran', i.e., 'My Son, My Grandson', instead of the BJP's 'En Mann, En Makkal' (My Land, My People).

Calling it a corrupt government, he referred to the alleged audio tape of former Finance minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR), in which the voice says that the Chief Minister's son and son-in-law had amassed Rs 30000 crore in the last two years.

Annamalai said that the audio tape was genuine and that is why PTR's portfolio was changed.

Further, he stated that the much touted Dravidian Model is the one that had made Tamil Nadu as the state with the highest debt in the country, while the Gujarat Model had a revenue surplus.

"Tamil Nadu has a debt of Rs 7.53 lakh crore. Each person in the state has a debt of Rs 3.52 lakh. If you do not go for new debt, it will 27 years to repay it. Every child born also has this debt. Children in Gujarat are born with a surplus of Rs 7500."

After the Pudukkottai leg, the padayatra would enter Madurai district, where interactions have been planned in Melur, Sholavandhan, Madurai city, Thiruparankundram and Thirumangalam. A public meeting is scheduled in Madurai city on 7 August.

Also Read: Tamil Nadu: Annamalai Interacts With People In Ramanathapuram Lok Sabha Constituency On Second Day Of Padayatra