DMK chief and candidate in the upcoming Tamil Nadu Assembly polls MK Stalin on Monday asserted that the first priority of his government, once it assumes office, will be to pass a resolution against the three farm laws enacted by the Union government. Addressing election meetings at Tirupathur and Jolarpettai, he noted that while Punjab, Kerala, and West Bengal passed resolutions against the farm laws, the K Palaniswami-led AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu refrained from doing so.

Lashing out against both the AIADMK and its ally PMK for keeping quiet while the three farm laws and the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) were passed in the Parliament, Stalin questioned their claims to be supporters of minority communities. The DMK had organised two crore signatures against the Citizenship Amendment Bill and its members had voted against it in Parliament, he added.

Stalin also promised to establish a government medical college, a polytechnic college and a mango pulp factory in Thirupathur district as well open SIPCOT industrial complexes at two centres -- Natrampalli and Mallagunda -- in the district.

Meanwhile, while speaking at Thirupatthur on Monday, Stalin also accused AIADMK and PMK for being responsible for the CAA’s passing in the Assembly. He also promised that he would not let the CAA to be implemented in Tamil Nadu, if the DMK is voted to power. He reminded the public that 125 MPs supported the CAA in the Lok Sabha, while 99 MPs opposed it. In view of this, he alleged that if AIADMK and PMK MPs had voted against the CAA, the law would not have been passed.

However, the AIADMK has promised to put pressure on the Union government to revoke the CAA if the is voted back to power in the 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly election. This was a major promise they included in its 2021 Assembly election manifesto. Their stance now is against the stand it took in 2019. The AIADMK’s decision to support the bill in the Parliament drew flak from various quarters, many of whom said that former Chief Minister and AIADMK Supremo J Jayalalithaa would not have supported the bill had she been alive.

(With inputs from IANS)