Daijiworld Media Network – Chennai
Chennai, Jul 11: The ruling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government has renamed the DMK's flagship free bus travel scheme for women from 'Magalir Vidiyal Payanam' to 'Magalir Payanam', triggering sharp criticism from the opposition, which said changing the name cannot erase the scheme's legacy.
The word 'Vidiyal', meaning dawn in Tamil, was a key political slogan used by the DMK during its 2021 Assembly election campaign and formed part of the party's branding. While the scheme's name has been altered, the benefits for women remain unchanged.
The revised name has already appeared on the digital destination boards of Metropolitan Transport Corporation (MTC) and Tamil Nadu State Transport Corporation (TNSTC) buses.
The DMK accused the TVK government of merely rebranding a successful welfare initiative instead of introducing new schemes. The party's IT wing criticised the move on social media, saying the name change would not deprive the DMK of credit for implementing the programme.
"It is like believing a marriage will stop if the comb is hidden. Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay thinks changing the name will deny credit to the DMK. Instead, he should fulfil his election promise of providing free bus travel for women across the state," the DMK IT wing said in a post on X.
The party further alleged that the TVK government's only visible achievement was renaming welfare schemes introduced during the previous DMK administration.
Former DMK legislator I. Paranthamen remarked that irrespective of its official name, the scheme has become popularly known among women as "Stalin's bus."
The removal of the term Vidiyal reportedly came without any formal announcement and caught the DMK by surprise. However, photographs and videos of buses displaying the updated scheme name quickly went viral on social media.
Senior DMK leader Thangam Thennarasu also criticised the decision, saying, "You can change the name but not history."
He alleged that renaming the welfare scheme was a politically motivated attempt to erase the DMK's identity rather than an administrative decision aimed at benefiting the public.
"The success of a scheme is measured by the positive impact it has on people's lives, not by its name. The time and energy spent on changing names should instead be devoted to launching new projects that improve livelihoods and strengthen public services," Thennarasu said.