Tamil Nadu   

Why was marriage scheme introduced by DMK discontinued, asks Karunanidhi

Special Correspondent

"It was among several welfare measures scrapped by AIADMK Government"

BUSY DAYS: DMK president M. Karunanidhi campaigning in the Chepauk constituency in Chennai on Tuesday. — Photo: S.R. Raghunathan

CHENNAI: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi on Tuesday wanted to know why Chief Minister Jayalalithaa discontinued the marriage scheme for poor women if she was greatly interested in their welfare.

Addressing public meetings at Chepauk here, he said he had introduced the `Moovalur Moothati Ramamrutha Ammaiyar' marriage scheme for unmarried women from poor families as a welfare measure. More than 2.7 lakh women, who had completed class X were given Rs. 10,000 each for their marriage, he said and asked why the Jayalalithaa Government discontinued the scheme if it was interested in their welfare.

Egg scheme

This was one of the many schemes that the AIADMK Government discontinued. He said in a democracy, each government tried to improve on any welfare scheme of its predecessor.

For example, the then Chief Minister Kamaraj introduced the noon meal scheme; the Chief Minister who came later, M.G. Ramachandran, expanded on this, the DMK leader said. When he was in power, Mr. Karunanidhi said he had introduced an-egg-a-week scheme for each child. But the AIADMK Government which came to power in 2001, discontinued this. Mr. Karunanidhi said that egg would be given as part of the noon meal twice a week if the DMK alliance came to power.

Terming the offer of 4 gram gold for `thali' for the marriage of women belonging to poor families an "election-eve gimmick" he said it was for the people to decide if this was better than the Rs. 15,000 that he would offer to each poor woman who would get married.

`AIADMK desperate'

Mr. Karunanidhi said that the All-India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam was desperate and hence was taking one scheme after the other from the DMK manifesto and sought to pass it off as its own. The AIADMK could as well say that it had adopted the DMK manifesto, he said.

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