Chidambaram reaffirms Congress’s alliance with DMK

Congress leader and former Union Minister P. Chidambaram reaffirmed his party’s alliance with the DMK and confirmed that they would face the elections unitedly and emerge victorious.

Speaking to press persons here on Wednesday, he denied any talks with Vijay’s Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam. “I convey my wishes to Vijay, but his efforts will not succeed; only INDIA will win,” he added.

Mr. Chidambaram criticised the Election Commission of India for removing 66 lakh names from the voter list in Tamil Nadu under the pretext of not having proper addresses. “This is unacceptable. Out of those removed, nearly 7.5 lakh people have already applied to re-include their names, and this number is expected to exceed 10 lakhs. This proves the Commission’s error. Everyone must stay vigilant to thwart the Commission’s manoeuvres,” he said.

Raising concerns over the newly announced Viksit Bharat – Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission (Gramin) (VB — G RAM G) Act replacing the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA), he said: “There are major flaws in this scheme. With State resources already depleted, no State can meet the requirement to bear 40% of the costs. This scheme will likely be implemented in all districts of BJP-ruled States but only in a few districts of non-BJP States.”

While the government claimed to have increase workdays to 125, it failed to provide even 50 days of work on an average, he added.

On the issue of Vice-Chancellor appointments, he said, “In many States, the government appoints the VC. The law stating that the Governor should appoint them in Tamil Nadu is outdated. When the Centre appoints the VCs for Central Universities, why shouldn’t the State governments do the same for State universities?”