The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Jayalalithaa chooses the easier option

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Wednesday, May 19, 2004

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Jayalalithaa chooses the easier option

By V. Jayanth

CHENNAI, MAY 18. Only yesterday, did the Chief Minister, Jayalalithaa, return to the Secretariat after the parliamentary elections. And today, she issued a five-page statement virtually rolling back all that she did during the past three years. Paragraph after paragraph, she announced the rollback of her decisions, nullifying the entire economic and fiscal reforms process she set in motion after assuming power. She has chosen the easier option of rescinding the unpopular decisions, which, her colleagues in government feel, cost the ruling AIADMK all seats in last week's election.

There was celebration among government employees and their associations, which welcomed Ms. Jayalalithaa's move to withdraw the cases against them and drop disciplinary proceedings.

They hope that the government will also scrap the controversial Essential Services Maintenance Act (ESMA) and the TESMA.

Far-reaching decisions

There were two far-reaching decisions the Chief Minister announced today: extension of free power supply to all farmers and restoration of the normal, full-fledged public distribution system in which all family cardholders will be eligible for whatever rations they were drawing earlier (The `H' system has been scrapped and there will be no income ceiling).

The extension of free power to all farmers was expected.

In fact, even before the elections, the decision was taken, keeping in mind the third successive drought year.

The government will now directly transfer the funds to the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board (TNEB) instead of going through the long-drawn process of sending by money orders the cash support to the farmers and asking them to pay the board.

Officials explain that so long as the TNEB is compensated for the subsidy, the Regulatory Authority can have no objection.

The targeting of the food subsidy scheme through a rationalised system of family cards has now been reversed. This is expected to cost the government dear, because it halved the subsidy last year through the `H' cards. Apparently encouraged by buoyancy in revenue collections and a very lucrative sale in Indian-Made Foreign Liquor shops run by the state-owned Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation, the government is hopeful of managing the outgo on subsidies.

Undoing damage

Perhaps the crucial political decision among today's withdrawals is the repeal of the controversial Tamil Nadu Prohibition of Forcible Conversion of Religion Act 2002.

The legislation turned minorities against the ruling party and when the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam withdrew from the BJP-led alliance and formed a secular front in the State, the minorities openly endorsed this combine.

Ms. Jayalalithaa is now trying to undo the damage.

From the media's point of view, the welcome decision is withdrawal of defamation cases against so many newspapers and media organisations.

There were well over 100 cases. Though none of them progressed to the hearing stage, the speed with which they were slapped tended to intimidate the media and journalists.

Equally significant was the announcement that a resolution would be moved in the Assembly to drop further proceedings against The Hindu and other newspapers (Murasoli).

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