CM Stalin launches Kalaignar Kaivinai Thittam for social inclusivity, against family profession

KANCHEEPURAM: Chief Minister MK Stalin on Saturday launched the Kalaignar Kaivinai scheme, calling it the Tamil Nadu government's alternative to the Prime Minister's Vishwakarma scheme, which, he said, promoted caste-based discrimination, while the state government's inclusive scheme promoted social justice.

Criticising the Vishwakarma scheme for insisting that an applicant must pursue only the traditional family trade, the CM said, "We strongly oppose it on the premise that it blatantly encourages caste discrimination and traditional family occupation. I was shocked and worried over the minimum age of the beneficiary set at 18 years for the scheme. Is that the age for a student to pursue higher education or his family occupation?

“The duty of a government is to bring those students who discontinued studies back into the education fold, and not to encourage them to discontinue education and pursue their family occupation," the chief minister said.

Arguing that under the Pudhumai Penn and Tamil Pudhalvan schemes, the State was striving to encourage students completing schooling to pursue higher education, the CM said the BJP-led union government was striving to encourage caste-based family traditional trade.

"What kind of impact would it have on an Indian society steeped in caste discrimination? How can a person with conscience tolerate this? Will the Tamil Nadu that fought against hereditary-education back in the 1950s permit this?" Stalin asked, and criticised the Union for rejecting the three major changes he proposed – doing away with mandatory family vocation criterion, increasing the minimum age criterion to 35 years and entrusting the beneficiary scrutiny responsibility with VAOs instead of village panchayat presidents.

Stalin then went on to compare the features of the Union and state schemes: "The Vishwakarma scheme has only 18 vocations and a beneficiary can only pursue his traditional family trade, but Kalaignar Kaivinai scheme has 25 schemes and allows beneficiaries to pursue the occupation of their choice. Vishwakarma scheme only has loan provision, but Kalaignar Kaivinai provides loans with subsidy up to Rs 3 lakh. Vishwakarma asks you to pursue family trade at 18, but one can only apply for Kalaignar Kaivinai after 35."