CHENNAI: AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami on Sunday brushed aside allegations that Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay had copied the party’s welfare promises, saying the question should be directed to Vijay, in a bid to sidestep the question amidst some alliance partners trying to bring the fledgling party into the NDA fold.
Speaking to reporters in Salem, Palaniswami deflected queries on whether Vijay had replicated AIADMK’s manifesto proposals. “This question should be asked to Vijay,” he said.
Referring to Vijay’s reported reversal of his earlier stance against freebies, Palaniswami said every political party announced its own schemes in line with its political ideology.
He pointed out that after AIADMK announced a monthly welfare assistance of Rs 2,000 for women, DMK president MK Stalin also announced a similar scheme.
Palaniswami said AIADMK had a long record of implementing welfare schemes for women since the tenure of former Chief Ministers MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa.
He reiterated that if AIADMK returned to power, a monthly assistance of Rs 2,000 would be credited directly to the bank account of the women heads of every household.
Highlighting the Amma two wheeler Scheme launched during the Jayalalithaa government, Palaniswami said the DMK government had discontinued the scheme. If voted back to power, AIADMK would provide a subsidy of Rs 25,000 for women purchasing two-wheelers, benefiting five lakh women, he said.