Lok Sabha election 2024: AIADMK releases manifesto; seeks mechanism for appointing Governors

Appointment of governors for states in consultation with the Chief Ministers, an alternative examination for NEET, establishment of a Supreme Court bench in Chennai were among the 113 electoral assurances made by the AIADMK.

Chennai: Releasing its manifesto for the Lok Sabha polls, Tamil Nadu’s principal opposition party, AIADMK, on Friday said it would exhort the Union Government to put in place a mechanism wherein state governments are consulted before appointing Governors, while pushing for more funds for Tamil Nadu. 

In the 54-page manifesto, the AIADMK, which is not part of any national alliance, focused much on states’ rights, including the need for state governments to get better funding from the Centre, and schemes like Rs 3,000 for women heads of “poor households” and due recognition to official languages in the country. 

Some of the promises that the AIADMK made were also part of the DMK manifesto released on March 20. Amidst a tug of war between the Raj Bhavan in Chennai and the DMK dispensation, the AIADMK said it will urge the ruling party at the Centre to ensure that  Governors are appointed after due consultations with respective state governments. 

“This was one of the demands of late J Jayalalithaa. The AIADMK will strive to achieve this goal of a mechanism for appointment of governors,” the manifesto said, adding that efforts will be taken to establish a bench of the Supreme Court in Chennai and making Tamil as the official language of the Madras High Court. 

To foster Centre-state relationship and to strengthen the federal structure, the AIADMK said, the winter session of Indian Parliament should be held in Chennai, while opposing the renaming of the laws relating to IPC. 

The party also focused on inter-state water disputes by promising to take efforts to ensure that the Mekedatu dam project being piloted by the Karnataka government is not implemented, while pushing for the retrieval of Katchatheevu, a tiny island sandwiched between India and Sri Lanka. 

Other promises include dual citizenship for ethnic Tamils from Sri Lanka and abolishing of toll charges at all National Highways.