Chennai (Tamil Nadu)

Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udayanidhi Stalin on Thursday inaugurated the Christmas, New Year and Pongal exhibition, where products on sale are produced by many women self-help groups.

The fair is organised by Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women (TNCDW).

Speaking at the event, the Deputy Chief Minister urged the general public to support the women's self-help groups by purchasing their products and presenting them as gifts amid the festivities.

"During holidays and festival seasons, I appeal to people and private companies to purchase products manufactured by women's self-help groups and present them as gifts on festive occasions, thereby showing their support to the SHGs," he said.

Meanwhile, speaking on the renaming of the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act (MGNREGA) to VB G-Ram-G, he displayed disappointment and claimed that there are Rs. 4,000 crores that are due to Tamil Nadu by the Union government.

"Funds must be released by the Union government. There is around Rs 4,000 crore due to Tamil Nadu, which has not been released yet by the Union government, and the Chief Minister has been repeatedly urging and pressing for the release of these funds..." he alleged.

Earlier, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin launched a sharp attack on the BJP-led government over proposed changes to the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme (MGNREGA), describing the new Viksit Bharat Guarantee for Rozgar and Ajeevika Mission-Gramin (VB G RAM G) as a "deceptive ploy" that strikes at the livelihoods of the rural poor.In a post on X, CM Stalin accused the BJP of undermining the flagship scheme while claiming to promote unity.

"The BJP, which claims unity, is striking at the stomachs of the poor; and Thiru Palaniswami is complicit in blowing the trumpet for it! In the #VBGRAMG scheme, 125 days of work is nothing but a deceptive ploy! Even when there was a law guaranteeing 100 days of work, under the BJP regime, people received only 20 to 25 days of work. They deceived the people by not releasing the wages and project expenses on a monthly basis. It was a pathetic situation where we had to fight to get even that pending amount," CM Stalin wrote.

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"Now, after the rules were changed to say that officials can provide work only if they wish, under the Union government's discretion, even one or two days of work is becoming rare. Tamil Nadu is going to suffer a major financial loss in fund allocation. The condition that states must bear 40% of the project cost is a burden imposed on state governments facing severe financial crisis after the #GST tax changes; it's a punishment!," his post added.

Stalin termed it an "unforgivable act" for Palaniswami to allegedly support the changes, which he described as "green treason" against rural women and poor agricultural labourers safeguarded by MGNREGA.