New Delhi: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister MK Stalin expressed optimism over the victory of the DMK-led alliance in the state assembly elections. He claimed that they would be able to get more than 200 seats in the elections, while he also attacked the BJP for trying to use the women’s quota as a “weapon” against the opposition. He also targeted AIADMK chief Edappadi K Palaniswami, the Enforcement Directorate and the Centre.Stalin said the secular progressive alliance, which includes Congress, Left parties and VCK, will sweep the 234-member assembly and form the Dravidian Model 2.0 government. He claimed that five years of rule and welfare measures had strengthened public support for the DMK. “People have shown a lot of love and trust in my party and with their support, SPA will win more than 200 seats and form the Dravidian Model 2.0 government,” he said.

women quota controversy

The Chief Minister said the Central government was not serious about implementing reservation for women and accused the BJP-led Center of trying to use it to counter the opposition ahead of the delimitation process. “The central government is not worried about implementing reservation for women. If their concerns were genuine, they could have done it immediately. Instead of doing so, the BJP-led Center is thinking of using it as a weapon to deal with the opposition and conduct a delimitation exercise based on population,” he said.He said that women’s reservation should be implemented immediately without linking it to delimitation. Stalin also said that Tamil Nadu had first raised its voice on the delimitation issue after realizing that the state could be affected, and argued that states with successful population-control measures should not be penalized.

EPS attack

Stalin rejected Palaniswami’s allegation that his family was a “power centre”, calling it imaginary and aimed at diverting attention from the DMK government’s record. She also hit back at the AIADMK chief over his criticism on women’s safety and law and order, saying the Pollachi sexual harassment case was a reminder of the failures of the previous regime.He alleged that the AIADMK lacks ideology or principles and said that the Delhi BJP serves as its headquarters. On delimitations, he accused Palaniswami of being “dumb” and said the AIADMK leader was effectively supporting the BJP’s position.

ED and wellness claims

Stalin described the ED’s actions in the TASMAC and sand-mining cases as a “centre-staged, ED-produced drama” and accused the agency of becoming a “slave”. He said the alleged TASMAC scam and illegal sand mining cases were politically scripted.He also defended his government’s welfare schemes, saying the monthly entitlement of Rs 1,000 to women and the breakfast scheme for school children were among the initiatives closest to his heart. He said the Mahila Adhikar Yojana would be increased to Rs 2,000 in the next term, while the breakfast program would be extended to Class 8.This comes amid the Tamil Nadu Assembly elections scheduled for April 23, with counting scheduled for May 4. Stalin said the DMK-led alliance remains strong since 2019 and will also do well in Puducherry, which went to polls on April 9.