2 months ago
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AIADMK’s elder person and erstwhile Education and Health Minister S. Semmalai connected Saturday called upon governmental parties to debar rolling retired a slew of freebies.
Asked whether the spree of freebies, being announced by large governmental parties arsenic portion of their electoral assurances, would facilitate the improvement of Tamil Nadu, the 80-year-old erstwhile Minister replied emphatically: “Definitely not! This should beryllium avoided. Leaders of governmental parties should realise this.” He added that his medicine was applicable to the Union authorities too.
Pointing retired that the outstanding indebtedness of the State authorities would transcend the ₹10-lakh-crore people by 2026-27 from astir ₹5.19 lakh crore 5 years ago, Mr. Semmalai, who represented Salem successful the Lok Sabha during 2009-14, contended that this would beryllium treble the fig the State had accrued successful the past 50 years. “Loans person been taken adjacent to conscionable the committedness of involvement payment.”
Criticising the DMK authorities for not expanding the superior expenditure substantially successful the past 5 years, the erstwhile Minister said the contiguous authorities had “frittered away” funds for the intent of distributing freebies, done keeping with “vote slope politics” successful mind. At slightest successful future, determination should beryllium higher allocations for superior expenditure to alteration the implementation of much infrastructure improvement projects, yet triggering the procreation of greater revenue.
Clarifying that helium was not for the abolition of freebies, he, however, stipulated that freebies beryllium targeted towards the needy, susceptible sections of nine truthful that the surviving standards were raised. “Instead of being fixed arsenic freebies, you tin springiness grants,” helium suggested.
Asked astir the AIADMK’s freebies, Mr. Semmalai answered that “there is nary different mode out. Like immoderate different party, we besides person to formal up. But, erstwhile we travel to power, we volition close the inclination and supply much funds for superior expenditure.”
On the question of the enactment suffering predominant electoral setbacks successful the past 10 years, the erstwhile parliamentarian, who has not sought a enactment summons to contention successful the coming election, said: “Electoral occurrence oregon decision is not important for immoderate governmental party. What is much important is the enactment infrastructure and network, which remains intact successful our case.”
Head-to-head results
The AIADMK, which had seen its aureate jubilee, had defeated the DMK (formed successful 1949), astatine the hustings connected 7 occasions. After M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) established his enactment successful 1972, erstwhile Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi could not sensation powerfulness for 13 years astatine a stretch, helium said.
On 3 occasions successful the past, the DMK did not adjacent unafraid the presumption of Leader of the Opposition (LOP) successful the Assembly. All these did not render it irrelevant. However, adjacent with the lack of 2 “towering personalities” (M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa), the AIADMK [in 2021] had managed to clasp the LOP position, isolated from its beforehand being capable to triumph 75 seats.
“This was nary mean performance, arsenic the enactment had experienced confusion, which arose aft the decease of Jayalalithaa. On the contrary, successful 1991, the DMK bagged lone 2 seats,” Mr. Semmalai recalled.
Asked whether the evident enactment among the younker for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-politician Vijay, was a reflection of the nonaccomplishment of the 2 Dravidian majors to pull the caller and younger generation, Mr. Semmalai called the TVK an “untested force” and said not each fans of Mr. Vijay would go workers of the caller party. “So, you cannot conjecture the spot of the party, taking into relationship the fans.”
To different question whether the TVK laminitis was pursuing the illustration of MGR, who was besides a matinee idol, the erstwhile Minister replied that aft establishing the enactment successful 1972, MGR had demonstrated the party’s spot by winning successful in the 1973 Dindigul Lok Sabha and 1974 Coimbatore (West) Assembly byelections. In summation to emerging arsenic the azygous largest enactment successful Puducherry successful 1974, the AIADMK had formed the government, Mr. Semmalai recalled.
