‘Despite challenges, T.N. met demands of govt. employees’

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin said on Sunday that the Union government was creating a financial crisis in a planned manner for the State, and his government had been overcoming it not only politically but also administratively, even while fulfilling the demands of government employees.

He was speaking at a ceremony organised by the Joint Action Council of Tamil Nadu Teachers’ Organisation and Government Employees’ Organisation (JACTTO-GEO) to thank him for considering the demands of its members.

Mr. Stalin said the Tamil Nadu Assured Pension Scheme (TAPS) was implemented at a crucial juncture when the Centre had been consistently reducing the State’s share of tax revenue and was not releasing even the allocated funds properly. Changes in the Goods and Services Tax regime had reduced the State’s tax revenue, he said.

The DMK government had fulfilled the long-pending demands of teachers and government employees by recognising their valuable contribution to society. A government is a synthesis of elected representatives and its employees. The Council of Ministers and the government employees are two sides of a coin. This was the path shown by former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, whose rule was a golden period for the government employees and teachers, he said.

Mr. Stalin said the government employees play a crucial role in delivering welfare schemes formulated by the government to the people. Calling the work done by the teachers a noble service to society, he said that because of them, Tamil Nadu stands as one of the best States for education in India.

He said the credit for the implementation of the DMK government’s flagship schemes since 2021 goes to the government employees. The Chief Minister said the Old Pension Scheme was stopped when the AIADMK was in power. This made the hard-working government employees suffer. But the DMK government was compassionate and inclusive, he said.