A public hearing was held regarding the acquisition of land for setting up a new airport at Parandur in the Kanchipuram district. In a press conference, Minister of Public Works E.V.Velu explained the demands of the people in the meeting.
Most of the people who attended the meeting said that more compensation should be given for the land and employment also should be given. The minister has said that the government will accept this. The minister said, “There is no other option but to take agricultural land for such projects.”
Also, “DMK never said that 8-lane road should not be constructed. When DMK was in the opposition, Chief Minister Stalin spoke about the 8-lane road in the Assembly and said DMK is not an opponent of road construction. He asked to call the farmers, understand what they need, solve the problem and build the road. Let me quote the legislative note if you want. DMK has never said that the 8-lane road should not be constructed”, he said.
What was DMK’s initial stance on the 8-lane project?
In 2018, the Union BJP government announced the Salem 8-lane project. When the AIADMK government tried to implement it in Tamil Nadu, the position of the DMK, i.e. the statement and speech of the party leader M.K.Stalin, was based on the alternative route.
On July 2, 2018, while speaking at Anbil Mahesh Poiyamozhi’s family member’s wedding ceremony, he said, “People’s opinion should be heard and an alternative route is to be formed.”
Similarly, on July 5, 2018, a hunger strike was held on behalf of the Communist Party of India in Chennai’s Valluvar district to condemn the central and state governments for taking away democratic rights. Speaking at the beginning of the protest, the leader of the then opposition party, Stalin, said that “an expert committee should be set up to implement the alternative route for Salem-Chennai 8-lane green road project, which is being implemented by destroying agricultural lands.”
சேலம்-சென்னை 8 வழிச்சாலைக்கு நிலம் கையகப்படுத்த சென்னை உயர்நீதிமன்றம் தடை விதித்திருப்பதை வரவேற்கிறேன்!
அப்பாவி மக்கள் மற்றும் விவசாயிகளின் நிலத்தை அராஜக போக்கில் கைப்பற்றிய அதிமுக அரசுக்கு நீதிமன்றம் தக்க பாடம் புகட்டியிருக்கிறது! இனியாவது, மாற்றுவழி குறித்து சிந்திக்க வேண்டும்
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) August 21, 2018
On August 21, 2018, the Madras High Court banned the acquisition of land in connection with the Green Corridor project and he welcomed it by tweeting that the court has taught a lesson to the AIADMK government that seized Agri lands in an anarchic way and that they should think about an alternative.
Status after the Supreme Court verdict
It can be seen that DMK’s position regarding the 8-lane road was a detour until the time when the Madras High Court gave its verdict.
The Union government appealed the High Court order once the project was banned by the Supreme Court, and the judgment was announced on December 8, 2020. The order said that the scheme could be implemented but the method of land acquisition for this purpose was wrong and the acquired lands were ordered to be handed over to the farmers.
சேலம் 8 வழிச்சாலையைத் தொடரலாம் என்ற உச்சநீதிமன்றத்தின் தீர்ப்பு அதிர்ச்சியளிக்கிறது.
நீதிமன்றத்தில் அதிமுக அரசு விவசாயிகளுக்கு ஆதரவான கருத்துகளை முன்வைக்கவில்லை- பாஜக அரசு நிறைவேற்றியே தீருவோம் என வாதிட்டது!
திட்டத்தைக் கைவிடுவதாக @CMOTamilNadu வெளிப்படையாக அறிவிக்க வேண்டும்! pic.twitter.com/ivZOIGJjux
— M.K.Stalin (@mkstalin) December 8, 2020
DMK President Stalin issued a statement on his Twitter page regarding this verdict. In this, he said, “No attempt should be made to implement this plan again” and “They should come forward to openly declare that they have given up instead of trying to escape by saying that it is the plan of the Union Government.” It is noteworthy that it was assembly elections time in 2021.
DMK Election Manifesto
திமுக தேர்தல் அறிக்கையில் புதிதாக 5 வாக்குறுதிகள்! #SunNews | #MKStalin | #TNElection2021 | #TNElectionWithSunNews | @mkstalin | @arivalayam | #DMKManifesto2021 pic.twitter.com/u7AcS5Ur2g
— Sun News (@sunnewstamil) March 14, 2021
The DMK released its election manifesto on March 13 of that year when the 2021 legislative assembly elections were to be held. 500 promises were announced, and after that, it released 5 promises separately. The main one is that the “Salem-Chennai 8-lane project against farmers will not be implemented”.
Read more: Controversy over DMK election manifesto which supports CAA… New promises attached immediately!
While talking about the alternative route, the DMK came to the point of giving an election manifesto saying that the 8-lane highway would not be implemented due to the farmers’ grievances or other political reasons.
When Stalin took over as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, he met Prime Minister Modi in person on June 18, 2021, and said that the 8-lane project should be cancelled as it would affect the farmers. This news gave great confidence to the people of the area and the farmers. During a press conference on March 20, Minister E.V.Velu mentioned that the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu will take a policy decision regarding the 8-lane project.
He now speaks of projects as having “no other option but to take agricultural land”. A few days before speaking like this, he had said, “When it comes to road expansion, even a landless person wears a green towel and says not to take the land.”
Also read: Do landless people protest wearing green towel to pretend as farmers? Did DMK forget its footsteps?
DMK came to power by winning the trust and votes of the farmers by talking and fighting about the livelihood problems of the farmers. We think everyone remembers that elections come every five years. The Minister’s words cannot be taken as personal. It will be considered the stand of the government. DMK has to prove among the people whether it will fulfill its major election manifesto and what its policy decision is.
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