Tiruppur (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 6 : Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) MP Kanimozhi, on Sunday, asserted confidence in the party's victory in the upcoming Tamil Nadu assembly polls, assuring further developmental policies by the DMK government.
Addressing a gathering here, she outlined future promises and said the DMK would provide laptops to 3.5 million youth to construct 1 million houses, increase old-age pension to Rs 2,000, assist persons with disabilities to Rs 2,500 and raise procurement prices for paddy and milk.
She also announced several development projects for the Sulur constituency, including a textile park, worker hostels, a new government hospital at Sencherimalai cold storage facilities, an international-standard indoor stadium and a new ring road.
Kanimozhi said that Coimbatore is expressing confidence in strong support for the DMK, particularly among women voters, adding the large turnout resembled women's confidence and reflected the backing for the DMK President and Chief Minister MK Stalin.
She asserted that the past five years of governance under the DMK had been focused on women's welfare, highlighting schemes such as the monthly Rs 1,000 assistance for women, which has strengthened their economic independence.
She also pointed to initiatives like the "Pudhumai Penn" scheme and the breakfast scheme in schools, stating that these programmes had significantly improved the lives of women and children.
Kanimozhi added that, if re-elected, the government would extend the breakfast scheme up to Class 8 and increase the women's assistance amount to Rs 1,500.
Highlighting youth development, she credited the "Naan Mudhalvan" initiative for enabling students to succeed in competitive exams like UPSC, noting that several candidates from the region had recently cleared the examination.
Criticising the opposition, she accused rival parties of forming alliances that, she claimed, were against Tamil Nadu's interests. She alleged that the Union government was withholding funds for not adopting Hindi and imposing policies such as the three-language formula.
Kanimozhi further alleged that opposition leaders, including Edappadi K. Palaniswami, had failed to fulfil their election promises in the past. In contrast, she said the DMK government had delivered on its commitments.
Appealing to voters, Kanimozhi urged them to give the DMK another opportunity, stating that the party remained committed to protecting Tamil Nadu's development and self-respect.
Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4.