DMK govt 'failed' to deliver 87 per cent of election promises: PMK

Chennai, Aug 26 (IANS) The Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), led by Anbumani Ramadoss, on Tuesday released a report accusing the DMK government of betraying the public by "failing" to deliver on the majority of its election promises.

The party claimed that after more than four years in office, the government had achieved little beyond rhetoric.

The PMK report, titled 'Where is the Dawn?', examined the 505 assurances made in the DMK's 2021 Assembly election manifesto. It said that only 66 promises (12.94 per cent) had been fully implemented, while another 66 were partially acted upon. A massive 373 pledges remain unfulfilled, along with five additional assurances personally made by Chief Minister M.K. Stalin during the campaign.

According to the PMK, key commitments relating to Sri Lankan Tamils, fisheries development and major irrigation projects had seen no progress.

In agriculture, only eight of 56 assurances were implemented. On the sensitive issues of employment and education, the party said the government failed to scrap the NEET exam, cancel educational loans or create the 3.5 lakh government jobs it had promised.

The report also criticised the DMK for backtracking on governance-related reforms. It pointed out that the government had not strengthened the Lokayukta, failed to enact a Right to Services Act, and had not established special courts to tackle corruption.

Employment-related pledges, such as legislating 75 per cent job reservation for Tamils in the private sector and setting up new industrial parks, remained on paper.

In healthcare, the report said only three of 18 promises had been delivered, with no progress on super-speciality hospitals or expanded ambulance services.

The PMK further noted that CM Stalin's seven long-term "vision commitments" in sectors such as the economy, agriculture, water resources, education, healthcare and social justice had seen "no tangible results".

Concluding its assessment, the party charged that the government had "let down the people who voted for change".

"The DMK promised a new dawn, but what Tamil Nadu has witnessed is a prolonged night of unkept promises and delayed progress," the report said.

--IANS

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