G Babu Jayakumar & D Sekar /DCChennai: Vowing to continue his fight against fascism and totalitarianism in India without getting bogged down by the childish pranks played by those like Governor R N Ravi, who refused to read out the Governor’s Address and broke a 100 year old tradition, Chief Minister M K Stalin said that the DMK had proved its efficacy to overcome all such obstacles thrown on its way in the past 75 years and would continue to soldier on in its path of glory.Replying to the discussion on the motion of thanks to the Governor’s Address on Thursday in the Assembly, Stalin accused the Governor of misusing the legislature for his own politicking by humiliating crores of people in the State, besmirching democratic norms and violating the very oath that he had taken through his refusal to read out the address prepared by the government as its policy report.The 33-month-old Dravidian Model government, led by him and guided by the principles of the leading lights of the Dravidian movement like Periyar E V Ramasamy, C N Annadurai and M Karunanidhi, had ensured the economic and social growth of the State that had also emerged as a role model for the rest of the country, he said.The success of the State and its growth in all sectors across the board had earned the wrath of its racial enemies, without the exemption of the Governor himself, mainly because the government was removing the concentration of power and levelling the pits of slavery, prompting each of the enemies to give vent to their anger in different ways, though he would not let that to be a deterrent to his mission to do something for the benefit of the people every day, he said.Whenever he had to put in his signature in a file to implement a scheme, he would ask the officials as to how many persons would benefit out of it and their answers had always warmed his cockles, he said, adding that the Kalignar Women’s Rights Assistance Scheme providing for Rs 1000 a month had helped 1,15,16,292 women, the free bus ride scheme had helped one crore women and the free breakfast scheme had come to the aid of 16 lakh children.Listing the other welfare schemes and giving the number of beneficiaries, he said the government had helped every household, addressing the needs of every individual in the State, which was a sign of a social reformation regime in power. It had been established that the women’s social contribution In the State had gone up to 65 per cent from the earlier 40 per cent after the implementation of various schemes aimed at supporting them, he pointed out.Besides, enrolment of girls from government schools in high education courses had seen a 34 per cent increase in view of the Rs 1000 assistance given under the Pudhumai Pen scheme, he said and made an announcement on the government plan to spend Rs 2000 crore in the next two years on repairing and renovating 2,50,000 houses constructed before the year 2001 under a wide range of government schemes for people from the rural marginalized sections.He also took a swipe at the Union Government for not approving the second phase of the Metro Rail project, not responding to the demands for assistance to provide relief for the two natural disasters that visited the State recently and showing a step motherly attitude towards the State. He mentioned the Rs 20,000 loss in tax collection due to the introduction of GST and the Union Governments’ refusal to compensate for that.No new schemes were being announced for the non-BJP ruled States in the country and the only one that was earmarked for the State over the years for the AIIMS in Madurai, about whose progress everyone knew, he said.However, the State government had ensured the development of all sectors and all districts to ensure everything for everyone by laying an ideological foundation based on social justice, equality, self-respect, a love for the language, racial rights and State autonomy.The government’s functioning had come in for praise from media organisations, not just in the country but also from abroad, he said and referred to New York Times coverage of the State’s growth story. He also mentioned the names of various media organisations that carried stories on the government and the Deccan Chronicle was acknowledged for a story on the government’s quick reaction to the people’s problems during Cyclone Michaung.
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