21-07-2025
C.Ve. Shanmugam files petition against use of CM's name in scheme
AIADMK leader and former Minister Shanmugam has filed a public interest litigation petition in the Madras High Court to forbear the State government from using Chief Minister M.K. Stalin's name in the Ungaludan Stalin scheme, which is aimed at taking government benefits and services to the doorstep of the beneficiaries.
The petitioner has also sought a direction to the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Committee on Content Regulation in Government Advertising in New Delhi, constituted on Supreme Court orders, to take action against DMK under paragraph 16A of the Election Symbols (Reservation and Allotment) Order, 1968.
In an affidavit, filed through his counsel K. Gowtham Kumar, the former Minister said, the Public (Mudhalvarin Mugavari) department had issued a Government Order on June 19, 2025, for implementing a public outreach programme titled 'Ungaludan Stalin' at an outlay of ₹54.95 crore for conducting 10,000 camps.
Stating that glorification of political personalities at public cost was prohibited under the Government Advertisement (Content Regulation) Guidelines of 2014, the petitioner insisted that the Chief Minister's name should not be used for naming a government scheme.
He added that the scheme provides for engaging volunteers at State cost to distribute pamphlets, and alleged that those pamphlets contained the name of the Chief Minister and his picture. The petitioner claimed it was being done intentionally to garner support for him during the 2026 Assembly elections.
Further, claiming that the pamphlets contain DMK's election symbol 'the rising sun,' the petitioner said, even an X handle created for the purpose had the party's symbol. He said, usage of such party insignia in State funded schemes was against judicial as well as electoral guidelines.
Mr. Shanmugam also claimed that the Ungaludan Stalin scheme was not an original thought, and that it was actually a rebranding/renaming of the Assured Maximum Service to Marginal People in All Villages (AMMA) scheme introduced by former Chief Minister Jayalalithaa way back in 2013.
