Tamil Nadu - Chennai   

DMK indulging in double talk: Chief Minister

Special Correspondent

Asks Union Ministers whether they had agreed to the foodgrains price hike

CHENNAI: Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Monday accused Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi of indulging in "double talk" on the Centre's decision to increase the price and reduce the quantum of rice allocated for the public distribution system (PDS).

Dubbing the increase and reduction in the allocation "twin arrows shot at the poor and the downtrodden," Ms. Jayalalithaa said in a statement here that she had pointed out on Saturday that the State Government would incur an additional annual burden of Rs.300 crore. She had also demanded the immediate resignation of all 12 Union Ministers from the State.

She wondered what these Ministers, belonging to the DMK and its allies, were doing when the Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs decided to increase the price and reduce the allocation. She asked whether the decision was taken without their knowledge. These doubts would arise in the minds of anyone who went through Mr. Karunanidhi's letter to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh.

"Had the Ministers of the DMK and its allies not given their consent to this decision?" she asked.

"Mr. Karunanidhi is enacting the drama of pinching the child in Delhi and rocking the empty cradle in Chennai," Ms. Jayalalithaa said. This was the best example of the proverbial "shutting the stable door after the horse has bolted." In this case, the person who had helped the horses flee was boasting that he had bolted the stable.

CPI(M) flays decision

The State secretariat of the Communist Party of India (Marxist) condemned the decision to scale down the subsidy by Rs. 4,524 crore and reduce the quantity of rice and other foodgrains supplied through the PDS.

In a statement, CPI(M) State secretary N. Varadarajan urged the Centre to withdraw the decision. It would affect the poor in the State, who were reeling under the recurring drought and the recent floods, he said.

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