Chennai, Oct 2:
DMK president and former Chief Minister M.K. Stalin on Friday questioned whether people’s problems could be addressed by watching social media Reels, while criticising the Tamil Nadu government over rising prices, GST revenue, industrial growth and several other issues.
In a post on X, Stalin asked whether Chief Minister Vijay, whom he accused of being busy with “shopping for MLAs”, was aware that people were struggling even to shop at grocery stores. Stalin made the remarks after visiting a grocery shop in Dharapuram during his election campaign and enquiring about the rise in prices of essential commodities.
According to Stalin, the prices of essential commodities had increased substantially compared with their levels four months ago. He said households were finding it increasingly difficult to manage even their day-to-day cooking expenses.
“Will watching Reels fill people’s stomachs?” Stalin asked, linking the issue of rising prices to what he described as the government’s focus on other activities instead of addressing people’s economic difficulties.
Stalin also contrasted the present situation with the economic performance he attributed to the previous Dravidian Model government. He claimed that even when economic growth across India was on a downward trend, Tamil Nadu had continued to move upwards under the Dravidian Model government.
He then raised the issue of Goods and Services Tax revenue. Stalin claimed that while GST revenue had increased across the country, Tamil Nadu had witnessed a decline over the past three months.
Stalin also alleged that experienced professionals were leaving Guidance Tamil Nadu, the State government’s investment promotion agency, for other States after deciding that the present administration was a “waste” government that was not delivering results.
He further accused the government of failing to pay adequate attention to several key sectors. According to Stalin, Tamil Nadu was rapidly heading towards a decline in areas including the economy, prices, electricity, industries, law and order, healthcare and the dairy sector.