TN to issue circular restricting AIADMK from distributing tokens for Pongal sops - Hindustan Times
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TN to issue circular restricting AIADMK from distributing tokens for Pongal sops

Hindustan Times, Chennai | ByDivya Chandrababu
Dec 31, 2020 04:09 PM IST

CM Edappadi Palaniswami had, on the first day of his election campaign, announced that 26 million ration card holders in Tamil Nadu will receive Rs2,500 and groceries for Pongal

The Madras high court on Wednesday ordered that Tamil Nadu issue a circular before 5pm Thursday stating that only the department of civil supplies can distribute official tokens to ration card holders for groceries and cash for Pongal.

AIADMK party workers celebrate after the announcement of Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's name as the party's chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.(PTI)
AIADMK party workers celebrate after the announcement of Tamil Nadu chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami's name as the party's chief ministerial candidate for the upcoming 2021 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.(PTI)

The Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Wednesday filed a writ petition in the Madras high court against the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) that tokens were being distributed by party workers with photos of the party’s flag and leaders.

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To this, the state advocate general Vijay Narayanan admitted that some “enthusiastic party workers” of the AIADMK had printed the tokens by themselves and distributed them in two districts. He took an undertaking that a circular will be issued for ration shops to accept only the official tokens from the state and not the party. The vacation bench of the court led by justices R Mahadevan and Anita Sumanth will issue further orders if the state fails to issue a circular.

Also Read: We are the minor partners in TN, says BJP as AIADMK rules out power sharing

Senior counsel P Wilson, representing DMK’s organising secretary RS Bharathi in his petition, said that while government funds were being used for the scheme, the ruling party cannot be allowed to get political mileage from it. Bharathi had previously raised this issue with the election commission seeking the AIADMK to be restrained ahead of the 2021 assembly elections though the model code of conduct is not in effect yet.

Chief minister Edappadi Palaniswami had, on the first day of his election campaign on December 19, announced that 26 million ration card holders in Tamil Nadu will receive Rs2,500 along with rice, cashews, cloth bags, sugarcane, and sugar as a Pongal gift. Pongal is a multi-day harvest festival celebrated in the state in January. He said that tokens would be issued for the free hampers to be rolled out from January 4 at ration shops.

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