The 'Murasoli' editorial asked the Union finance minister to answer the questions directed at her instead of shifting the blame onto others.
Published Aug 06, 2022 | 5:54 PM ⚊ Updated Aug 06, 2022 | 6:36 PM
Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman. (Facebook)
The DMK is going all guns blazing against Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman for her recent speech in the Lok Sabha slamming the Tamil Nadu government for failing to slash fuel tax, among other claims.
In her speech in Tamil, Sitharaman took a dig at the Stalin government for not keeping its election promise to reduce the fuel tax while the Centre has reduced the taxes twice.
DMK mouthpiece Murasoli on Saturday, 6 August, published an editorial titled ‘Nirmala Sitharaman needs to calm down’, a jibe at the Union finance minister for losing her cool during the Lok Sabha discussion on the Indian economy.
The editorial advised Sitharaman to take responsibility and answer the questions posed to her regarding the price rise, five percent GST on essential food items, etc., instead of shifting the blame onto others.
“When asked why the fuel prices are going up in the country, the Union minister asks why Tamil Nadu hasn’t reduced taxes!” the editorial sneered at Sitharaman.
The editorial, noting that Sitharaman has given her speech in Tamil, noted that not all those who speak Tamil are Tamilians.
“She (Nirmala Sitharaman) has lost her calm to the extent that she refers to Tamil Nadu as ‘your Tamil Nadu’ while speaking in Lok Sabha,” the editorial pointed out.
“Why are you burning when you see our Tamil Nadu? Through this, don’t you understand that not all those who speak Tamil are Tamilians?” the DMK mouthpiece asked.
It further slammed Sitharaman for claiming that the Indian economy is doing well because “the government registered good GST collection and more people were paying taxes”.
In its counter, the editorial said, “People paying taxes only shows that they are bearing with you. It does not mean that the economy is in good health. The health of the Indian economy is different from people filing taxes.”
It compared the situation to National Eligibility cum Entrance Test (NEET) students. It said, “Just because a majority of students are appearing for the (NEET) exam, it doesn’t mean they all support the exam.”
The DMK mouthpiece defended the state government and pointed out that the Stalin government had cut the price of petrol by ₹3 in August 2021, even before the Centre did so in November 2021.
It also said that the Centre cutting taxes on petrol has further reduced the state taxes by ₹1.95 per litre, and now the total state tax on petrol has gone down by ₹4.95 per litre.
Murasoli claimed that the DMK government had thus kept its election promise, made in its 2021 manifesto, of cutting petrol prices by ₹5.
The editorial, stressing that it is the Centre that should reduce the taxes, quoted Telangana Chief Minister K Chandrasekhar Rao and said: “Telangana CM KCR has put it in simple terms: Who should lower fuel prices? Those who increased it should reduce it. Therefore, Nirmala Sitharaman must reduce the prices.”
Murasoli also reminded Sitharaman that Parliament is not a “chorus group”, but a forum for debates, where questions would be posed and answers must be given.
The editorial comes after Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Dr Palanivel Thiaga Rajan (PTR) released a point-by-point rebuttal to Sitharaman’s speech and also published a series of videos countering the claims made by her.
In one of the videos, PTR referred to the Union Government as a “colonial power”, which was constantly targeting Tamil Nadu for being the “last bastion of true state’s rights and good economic performance in the country.”
