Poll promises for persons with disabilities and some concerns

Different political parties, in their manifestos for the Assembly election, have come up with a variety of promises for persons with disabilities, from increased welfare assistance to employment opportunities. But activists have flagged certain gaps and concerns.

Namburajan, working president of the National Platform for the Rights of the Disabled (NPRD), said most of the promises were a repetition of those from the previous election manifestos. Though some of the promises, like a dedicated cell at every government medical college hospital to allow all speciality doctors to examine patients with disabilities, were truly assuring, they often failed to go beyond the conceptual stage owing to lack of budgetary allocation and administrative willpower, he said.

“While such centralised medical boards would provide an immense relief by eliminating the need for multiple hospital visits, the history of unfulfilled promises suggests that without a concrete timeline for implementation, these assuring words risk becoming yet another hollow promise,” he said.

‘Parties lack the will’

Mr. Namburajan expressed concern that the political parties still lacked the political will to transform accessibility. According to him, despite rhetoric, there is little progress in making public and private spaces truly barrier-free, as mandated by both the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (CRPD) and the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (RPwD) Act, 2016. “Even in critical government buildings like the Secretariat, there is a glaring absence of digital announcement boards and tactile flooring,” he added.

While parties like the Naam Tamilar Katchi (NTK) have promised to ensure all buildings are fully accessible with ramps, accessible toilets, elevators, and special handrails, the two major parties — the DMK and the AIADMK — have made no mention of such comprehensive infrastructure reforms.

P. Simmachandran, president, Tamil Nadu Differently Abled Federation, criticised the current system of appointing “nominal” councillors to the local bodies. Such positions often serve as another layer of party representation, failing to bring in authentic voices highlighting the real-world issues faced by persons with disabilities. “Just as reservation is mandated for women and members of the Scheduled Castes and the Scheduled Tribes, a dedicated quota for persons with disabilities is essential to ensure genuine representation and drive real systemic change,” he said.

No free travel

Citing the DMK’s promise to increase the assistance to ₹2,500 and the maintenance grant for severe disabilities to ₹4,000, Mr. Simmachandran questioned why the party did not emulate Andhra Pradesh, which provides ₹15,000 a month. The DMK and the AIADMK did not include free travel for persons with disabilities in all government-operated buses, he said.

DMK MLA N. Ezhilan, a member of the DMK manifesto committee, said, “We will enact legislation to guarantee full accessibility for persons with disabilities in all government buildings and public spaces, as mandated by the RPwD Act.” As mentioned in the manifesto, the government would appoint a facilitation officer in 19 government departments to coordinate activities in relation to their needs, he said.

“The DMK has promised to address the issue of name-sake appointments of persons with disabilities in the private sector,” he said, adding that the party intended to achieve this through a committee which would serve as a bridge to identify the right candidates and place them in suitable roles.

AIADMK MLA and manifesto committee member R.B. Udhayakumar said the manifesto was drafted only after extensive consultations with representatives of persons with disabilities. “We are prepared to fulfil even more based on the evolving needs of the people,” he said.