The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : DMK election promises practicable: Karunanidhi

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Monday, Apr 03, 2006

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

DMK election promises practicable: Karunanidhi

Special Correspondent

To announce modalities of TV sets distribution scheme on April 5

CHENNAI: Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam president M. Karunanidhi on Sunday said his party's election promises to supply rice through the public distribution system for Rs.2 a kg and give colour television sets were practicable.

Replying to questions, he said there would be no problem in fulfilling the promise on rice distribution by increasing the subsidy. The scheme would be implemented immediately after the new Government assumed office.

As for the criticism that the DMK was trying to "hoodwink" the women of poor families by announcing that free colour television sets would be provided to every family, Mr. Karunanidhi said he would announce the modalities of the scheme at a public meeting in Chennai on April 5.

Flays `betrayers'

On some activists, after enjoying the fruits of office, quitting the DMK when denied the party ticket for elections, he said those who had been recommending ticket for such persons should realise that he had taken certain bold decisions only to safeguard the organisation from "betrayers."

To a query on Chief Minister Jayalalithaa's reference to some achievements of her Government during the last five years, Mr. Karunanidhi said she had not achieved anything. She introduced the `Uzhavar Padhukappu Thittam' only after completing four years in power, that too after doing away with the `uzhavar sandhais' set up by the DMK Government at 100 places which had benefited 16.08 lakh farmers and 5.10 crore consumers.

The AIADMK Government had only "maintained" the price of the PDS rice at Rs.3.50 a kg. Though the government effected a steep price hike, it reduced it following Opposition protest. Her attempts to withdraw the free power scheme for farm pump sets twice also failed because of the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance's decision to launch an agitation.

Mr.Karunanidhi flayed the Government for causing confusion on the issue of common entrance test for professional courses.

He denied Ms. Jayalalithaa's charge that the United Progressive Alliance Government at the Centre was adopting a "step motherly attitude" to the State. "Can Ms. Jayalalithaa list the occasions when she and her Cabinet colleagues called on the Union Ministers seeking Central assistance for the State Government's schemes?" Prime Minister Manmohan Singh had also made it clear that the Centre had extended assistance impartially to States affected by natural calamities.

Printer friendly page
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail