Coimbatore, April 9 (IANS) Prime Minister Manmohan Singh Saturday said Tamil Nadu has become a model state in the country under the leadership of Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, who heads the DMK.

 
 "Under the visionary leadership of the 'Kalaignar' (scholar of arts - as Karunanidhi is popularly described), Tamil Nadu has become a model state for others," the prime minister saaid.
 
 "For the past five years, the Congress at the centre and the DMK at the state worked together for rapid development of the state and the country," Singh said.
 
 The prime minister was addressing at an election rally here, around 500 km from the state capital Chennai.
 
 Praising the rich tradition and the culture of the Tamil civilisation, Singh said the central government accorded the Tamil the classical language status fulfilling the 150-year-long aspiration of the state's people.
 
 Referring to the central schemes implemented in the state, the prime minister said unprecedented expansion and modernisation work has been undertaken on the national highways sector.
 
 He also referred to the other major centrally aided projects in Tamil nadu.
 
 Singh assured the people that the Sethusamudram Canal Project will be implemented in the state after clearing the legal hurdles.
 
 Expressing concern over the problems faced by the dyeing units in Tirupur and the textile units in the state, he said the Rs.25,000 crore Textile Upgradation Fund will help the weavers to a large extent.
 
 Declaring that the Congress and its allies are alive to the problems of the common man, the prime minister said the country cannot progress if all the sections of the society do not move ahead together.
 
 He said the United Progressive Alliance government is sensitive to the concerns of the socially and economically disadvantaged groups like the Dalits, minorities, women and the children.
 
 He also said that the government is committed to implement reservation for women in the Lok Sabha and cited the reservation for them at the local body level.
 
 Referring to a report of eminent economists that ranked Tamil Nadu as the number one state in the country, Singh appealed to the voters to elect the Congress-DMK combine to take the state to further heights.
 
 The Congress is contesting 63 seats as part of the DMK-led alliance in the April 13 assembly elections in the state.