Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 5 : Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition (LoP) and DMK leader Udhayanidhi Stalin on Wednesday lashed out at Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay alleging that his arrest on Tuesday was a "diversionary tactic" to deter him from raising the Cauvery and Mekedatu issue.
"The day before yesterday, I protested against this government's failure on these issues, and I was arrested. These are merely diversionary tactics to prevent me from raising the Cauvery and Mekedatu issues. They have also poached AIADMK MLAs. DMK's Gen-Z cadres are being targeted and arrested. There are numerous issues and problems under this TVK government, and they are resorting to diversionary tactics to shift public attention away from them. Law and order have also deteriorated. In the last five weeks alone, there have been five custodial deaths and six caste-based murders," Udhayanidhi said.
When asked about the silence of CM Vijay over his arrest on Tuesday, Udhayanidhi told reporters, "You should ask him. He is the one who is silent."
Speaking about the maiden budget of the TVK government, Udhayanidhi argued that there was no scheme introduced in the budget to fulfil election promises. He also said that the state government has merely "pasted the name" of their party onto existing schemes such as the laptop scheme.
"There is no scheme in this budget to fulfil the promises made during the election campaign. We should thank the Finance Minister for acknowledging that Tamil Nadu ranks number one in many sectors. However, this government has merely pasted the name 'Vetri'--which is also the name of their party--onto existing schemes. We had announced a scheme to distribute 20 lakh laptops, of which 10 lakh had already been distributed," the Tamil Nadu LoP said.
"They have simply renamed it the Vetri Laptop Scheme. Tamil Nadu has long been a leader in social justice, education, healthcare, and industrial development, but that vision is missing under this government...This TVK government has not had the courage to stop the construction of the Mekedatu Dam, nor has it taken any concrete steps to address the issue," he added.
He further said that the finance budget presented by the TVK government on Wednesday lacks "roadmap or announcement regarding their implementation". The former Deputy CM said that DMK will question the Vijay government throughout the assembly session.
"The Chief Minister asked for time to fulfil his election promises, but even in today's budget, there was no roadmap or announcement regarding their implementation. The DMK is ready to question the government throughout this Assembly session, and we expect the government to answer those questions. The TVK promised to bring change, but the only change it has brought is changing the names of old schemes," Udhayanidhi said.
The Tamil Nadu Assembly LoP, also accused the state government of "inaction" over the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) issue, even as the opposition INDIA bloc protests against the paper leak issue. He also said that it was the Chief Minister who was "silent" on issues. In Tamil Nadu, protests have erupted demanding the scrapping of NEET.
"While the INDIA alliance is protesting against NEET, this government has taken no meaningful action on the issue. The Chief Minister did not respond to these concerns; instead, the PWD Minister answered them. If that is the case, why should the Opposition come to the Assembly expecting answers from the Chief Minister?" Stalin said while addressing a press conference.