The AIADMK’s former coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, and the AMMK’s general secretary, T.T. V. Dhinakaran, on Saturday criticised the DMK government for announcing the hike in social security pension (SSP) schemes only by ₹200 per month per beneficiary instead of ₹500 as promised in the Assembly election manifesto of the ruling party.
In a statement, Mr. Panneerselvam referred to the DMK’s electoral promise of increasing the monthly pension amount to ₹1,500 from ₹1,000. Considering the level of inflation and the increase in the rates of tax and charges in a range of fields, the government should have fixed the pension amount at ₹2,000. “But, it has enhanced the amount only to ₹1, 200, which is a rise of ₹200,” the former coordinator observed.
Pointing out that the current year’s policy note for Social Welfare and Women Empowerment Department mentioned the number of beneficiaries of the SSP schemes as 34,62,034, Mr. Panneerselvam said that in the day’s announcement, it was stated that 30 lakh persons would be benefitted. He called for extending the hike to all those covered under various schemes.
As nearly 20 lakh beneficiaries had been enumerated under certain schemes that had the Central government’s share too, the financial burden of the State government would not be very high if the hike in the pension amount was effected, he said. Terming the quantum of hike “unacceptable”, Mr. Dhinakaran demanded that the pension amount be raised to ₹2,000.
Meanwhile, in an interaction with journalists, AIADMK’s organisation secretary and former Fisheries Minister D. Jayakumar alleged that only those women identified by the ruling party’s district secretaries were being given application forms for the Kalaignar Magalir Urimai Thogai scheme. Condemning the Manipur incident in which two women were paraded naked, he wanted the State government to get punishment without delay for the guilty.
He urged the Centre to resolve the core dispute in the northeastern State.
