Budget disappoints beneficiaries of Old Age Pension scheme: DMK

PUDUCHERRY: Opposition DMK today charged the AINRC government with having let down beneficiaries of the old age pension and also physically challenged as there was no proposal in the budget to hike monthly assistance to the aged and differently abled persons.

Party's local unit convenor Dr M A S Subramanian said in a release here that AINRC had not implemented any promise made in its election manifesto for the 2011 assembly polls. There were no proposals to implement the promises in the budget. Distribution of the promised freebies continued to be out of bounds for the targeted sections.

He said there was no mention in the budget of holding of civic polls and no funds had been set apart to conduct the elections to restore democracy at the grassroot level, though there is a specific Supreme Court directive that government hold civic polls by July 14.

Though slashing of VAT on several commodities, including hotel products was welcome, there is no specific step to rationalise excise duty on liquor products. Also there was no promise or assurance to procure adequate number of seats in post graduate courses in private medical colleges.

He demanded to know the steps government would take to reinstate the about 4000 odd retrenched workers.