Stalin dubs previous AIADMK regime as 'Dark Age', slams Right wing

People in Tamil Nadu are now leading peaceful lives and have no grievances while the previous 10-year AIADMK regime was a 'dark age', Chief Minister M K Stalin said here on Tuesday inaugurating an equality village. In a veiled attack apparently on the Right wing, Stalin said people understood well the issues that have been arising in the country due to the 'dominance' of some who propagate 'retrograde opinions' and 'superstitious practices.' 'Such conspiracies', failing to gain traction in Tamil Nadu is owing to the work of reformist leader Periyar Ramasamy, Dravidian icon CN Annadurai, late Chief Minister M Karunanidhi and other leaders of the Dravidian movement, he said.

Presiding over a state event to inaugurate an equality village and newly built government buildings in addition to distribution of welfare assistance to beneficiaries, Stalin said ahead of the commencement of the function where he interacted with a section of participants to ascertain people's views on his government.

When he asked women on the performance of the DMK government till date after it assumed power in May 2021, they replied that the government is doing pretty well. ''When I asked them if they have any grievances, they said they have no grievance. They said that after the DMK assumed office, they are leading peaceful lives,'' the Chief Minister said.

Stalin inaugurated 33 new buildings constructed at a cost of Rs 22 crore and kickstarted distribution of welfare assistance to beneficiaries under various initiatives to the tune of about Rs 42 crore. Pointing to Periyar's dream of people cutting across castes and religions living together without any discrimination whatsoever, Stalin said Karunanidhi had launched the Periyar Memorial Equality Village Scheme (Periyar Ninaivu Samathuvapuram Thittam) in 1997 and went on to establish over 230 such equality villages across Tamil Nadu.

The CM said, though financial allocation was made in 2010-11 during the DMK regime for an equality village at Kozhuvari Village Panchayat in Villupuram district and work too started, that initiative was put on backburner after the AIADMK assumed office. The AIADMK, now the main opposition party, was in power from 2011 to 2021 in Tamil Nadu. Stalin said the previous AIADMK government putting this project on hold for a decade symbolised 10 years of 'dark age' in the state.

The equality village inaugurated near here by the Chief Minister has amenities including drinking water, children's park, playgrounds, street lights and roads. The total number of equality villages, including the one inaugurated today, stood at 238. Each equality village has 100 houses and 40 tenements are allocated to Scheduled Castes, 25 to Most Backward Communities, 25 to Backward Classes and 10 to others, paving the way for harmonious living conditions to people belonging to all castes, the Chief Minister said. ''This entire country should get transformed into a Samathuvapuram. That is our goal, our aim...entire Tamil Nadu should become a Samathuvapuram and the whole of India must become a nation of equality and social justice,'' he said. Tamil Nadu and the DMK government's 'Dravidian model', would continue to show the way to the rest of the country in this regard. Social justice driven all inclusive growth is the crux of the Dravidian model.

The CM expressed happiness that over the years, 90 per cent families continued to live in the houses allotted to them in equality villages and showed acceptance of people belonging to all sections of the society. Stalin slammed the previous governments led by the AIADMK for not properly maintaining equality villages. Also, other schemes launched during the DMK regimes were given up by the successor AIADMK, he alleged.