Tirupur: Union minister L Murugan, who is contesting in Avinashi constituency, on Sunday slammed DMK govt for delaying Coimbatore airport expansion project by five years, despite the previous AIADMK regime acquiring land for the project.Addressing the media at his campaign office, Murugan said AIADMK administration had arranged for 600 acres for Coimbatore airport expansion. “DMK withheld it for five years. The land was released only recently that too out of immense pressure from industrialists and various stakeholders. The Union govt has allocated Rs42,000 crore for the project.” Murugan said the Centre had provided Rs13 lakh crore for Tamil Nadu’s development over the past 11 years. “Centre’s current annual allocation for TN stands at Rs8,000 crore against Rs800 crore during the Congress regime in 2009-2014.” He said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Coimbatore had boosted voters’ enthusiasm in Kongu region. On delimitation, Murugan dismissed the chief minister’s criticism, stating that an increase in MP seats was essential for the country’s development and administrative efficiency, as the population had grown significantly since independence. Talking about the women’s reservation bill, he took an indirect jibe at MP A Raja and said, “In Nilgiris, must it always be a ‘Raja’; can’t a ‘Rani’ come? Shouldn’t our women become MLAs and MPs?” He also played down TVK’s impact in the constituency, stating only 5,000 people had gathered for Vijay in Avinashi.
