Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin, on Sunday, August 17, sharply criticised Governor RN Ravi, accusing him of indulging in “cheap politics” and peddling fear and misinformation against the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government.
Speaking at Dharmapuri while launching an instant crop loan scheme under the Primary Agriculture Cooperative Societies (PACS), CM Stalin said the Governor had gone beyond the Opposition in trying to malign the state government.
“There is a person sitting in the Governor’s bungalow whose cheap politics surpasses that of the Opposition. He mocks the Dravidian Model, derides our language, and even cooks up a non-existent Thirukkural. His constant attacks will only strengthen our love for Tamil culture and language,” Stalin said. Thirukkural is a collection of Tamil poetry and moral philosophy written by Thiruvalluvar.
A month ago, the Governor distributed mementos to doctors that carried a wrongly attributed Thirukkural. The inscription was marked as “Kural 944,” but the words inscribed did not belong to that couplet. Instead of the actual Kural 944, which speaks about medicine, the text was a distorted version of Kural 123.
This came in response to the Governor’s Independence day speech, in which he said that the state is facing four “very serious challenges”, namely drug abuse, sexual violence against women, increasing suicides and discrimination. Citing the Annual Status of Education Report (ASER), he had said that the public education system in the state was “on a steady decline”.
The CM rebutted Governor Ravi’s claim that Tamil Nadu was unsafe for women, saying that Union government statistics to the contrary. “According to the National Crime Records Bureau, BJP-ruled Uttar Pradesh tops the list of crimes against women. If Tamil Nadu was unsafe, how did we attract Rs 10 lakh crore investments since we assumed office?” he asked.
Turning to the 2026 Assembly elections, Stalin declared that the DMK government would return to power with renewed vigour under ‘Dravidian Model 2.0’.
Listing the government’s various welfare initiatives, Stalin said that the beneficiaries themselves were the best ambassadors of the schemes.
Speaking about the Vidiyal Payanam program, which was introduced with the aim of providing free bus rides for women in state busses he recalled that his very first signature in office was for the free bus travel scheme for women, which critics had claimed would lead to reduced services and fare hikes. “We did not see it as an expenditure but as an investment in women. Similarly, the Magalir Urimai Thittam has enabled women to save close to Rs 50,000 since its inception,” he said.
Stalin said the newly launched instant crop loan scheme would allow online applications to be processed and loan amounts credited to farmers’ accounts on the same day. This, he noted, would replace the existing in-person system, which took about a week.
The scheme was rolled out on a pilot basis at the Balajangamanahalli PACS in Adhiyamankottai, Dharmapuri, and will be gradually expanded across the state. Stalin added that Tamil Nadu has often been a trendsetter for welfare schemes later emulated by other states.
At the event, the CM also distributed cheques to five beneficiaries, inaugurated completed projects, and laid the foundation stone for new development works.
(With IANS inputs)