Stalin hits out at TN CM over move to raise retirement age of govt staff

DMK president M K Stalin took a

swipe at Tamil Nadu Chief Minister K Palaniswami for raising the retirement age of government employees to 60 years, saying the announcement was made with an eye on the forthcoming assembly elections in the state.

Though increasing the retirement age of state government employees was welcome, it appears that the announcement was made with the elections in mind, Stalin alleged.

"Raising the retirement age is welcome, albeit the announcement made for the election," the DMK leader said in a Facebook post on Thursday.

He said the chief minister should have fixed the age criteria of 60 years, when he had increased the retirement age to 59 from 58 years in May last year.

He said it was also necessary to increase employment opportunities for the educated youth, who are anxious about their future and have high expectations, and to devise strategies to safeguard their employment prospects.

Stalin sought to know if the chief minister would invite the striking transport employees for talks.

Meanwhile, the Tamil Nadu Government Employees Association (TNGEA) took exception to the decision to further enhance the retirement age of state government employees and claimed the move will affect the job prospects of several youths.