Has DMK copied PMK's election manifesto? Ramadoss alleges so

Chennai: As campaigning heats up for the Tamil Nadu Assembly Election 2016, the PMK on Friday claimed that the DMK had "copied" its election manifesto.

The PMK alleged that the DMK, led by M Karunanidhi, has 'literally lifted' several provisions from its earlier draft manifesto issued last year.

PMK founder S Ramadoss said that the party had released a draft manifesto in September last year and the DMK "has copied 42 schemes" from it.

Ramadoss levelled the allegations while releasing his party's manifesto for the May 16 Assembly polls.

"The DMK has copied 42 schemes, literally lifting them from our draft manifesto. This includes implementation of Prohibition, establishing Lokayukta, Right to Service Act and appointing a panel to the Chief Minister to advise on economic affairs," he told reporters here.

Ramadoss even mentioned the page numbers of the schemes in PMK's draft manifesto and DMK's manifesto released recently.

Other schemes which the DMK has alegedly lifted from the PMK include waiver of cooperative farm loans, encouraging nature farming, setting up of cold storage facilities in all the 32 districts, establishing a Coconut Industrial Park at Pollachi in Coimbatore district, constituting a panel to devise CBSE-like school curriculum and live coverage of Assembly proceedings.