"No Special Scheme": MK Stalin's Party vs Amit Shah Over Fund Allocation

The ruling DMK in Tamil Nadu on Sunday questioned Union Home Minister Amit Shah's assertion on the Centre's initiatives for the state and said allocation of funds as stated by him was part of the government's "constitutional duty".

DMK Parliamentary Party leader TR Baalu claimed Mr Shah could not point out any "special schemes" as sought by his party president and Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Responding to Mr Stalin's demand that Shah list out the Centre's special schemes for Tamil Nadu in the past nine years, the senior BJP leader at a public meeting in Vellore in Tamil Nadu detailed the various initiatives of the Narendra Modi-led Union government for the state in sectors including aviation, railways and roads.

He had also said devolution of central funds to Tamil Nadu has increased manifold during this period.

In a statement, Mr Baalu said Stalin's charge was that there had been no special schemes announced by the BJP-led NDA for Tamil Nadu in the last nine years. He claimed Mr Shah could not point out any such scheme.

"The fund allocation and subsidies pointed out by the Home Minister are the constitutional duty of the Union government towards the state government," he said.

Any government at the Centre has to give them to the states, Mr Baalu added.

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