‘Minister Mano Thangaraj Involved In Smuggling Ore From TN To Kerala’, Alleges Annamalai During Padayatra In Kanyakumari’s Padmanabhapuram

Addressing the public during his padayatra in Kanyakumari’s Padmanabhapuram, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) state president K Annamalai criticised the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on a number of issues like neglecting local icons, failure to clamp down on smuggling of mineral ores to Kerala and not fulfilling its promise of MSP on crops such as banana and sugarcane etc.

Alleging that Dairy Minister Mano Thangaraj is involved in the nexus that smuggles mineral ores to Kerala, he said, “On July 23, 2023, a government order was passed here. It was told that lorries with more than 10 wheels must not be allowed to carry ores. Ores more than 28 tons must not be carried on lorries.

“Minister Mano Thangaraj promised that ores will not be smuggled to Kerala. Few people were instigated to get a stay on this order from the High Court.

“I would like to put forward a question to Minister Mano Thangaraj. DMK government spent lakhs of rupees in the Supreme Court to protect Senthil Balaji from being arrested. Why cannot Mano Thangaraj go to the Supreme Court to get a stay on the High Court order?

“Only if he is not involved in this nexus with the ore smugglers will he not go to the Supreme Court.

“Every day 600 loads of lorries smuggle mineral ores to Kerala”

He then spoke about the GI tags that products grown in Kanyakumari have received during the Modi government’s tenure.

“In Oct 2021 Kanyakumari’s cloves was GI tagged with the efforts of PM Modi. In March 2023, Marthandam’s honey got its GI tag. In August 2023, Matti banana got its GI tag. This is an example to prove that PM Modi stands with the farmers all time.

“Beneficiaries of National Hortifculture Mission have availed loans upto Rs 2 lakh to expand their business.

“DMK promised MSP for banana in its election promise number 35. Not even one rupee was provided as MSP. DMK promised MSP for paddy at Rs 2500. It was not delivered. DMK promised MSP for sugarcane at Rs 4000. It was not delivered. DMK is an enemy of the farmers."

Criticising the DMK government's stand on NEET, he said that while it is unfortunate that a NEET aspirant and his father committed suicide recently, the government should also highlight the achievers from underprivileged backgrounds.

"Today we have a special guest amongst us. Her name is Darshini. She has scored 459/500 in her 10^th public exam. She has scored 516/600 in her 12^th publics. She has scored 396 in NEET. She is studying medicine in government medical college Virudhunagar. Chief Minister MK Stalin must look upto students like Darshini. There are 100s of such first generation students who have secured MBBS seats through NEET", he said.