As per the wishes of AIADMK cadre in the State, ‘Amma’ will return to Fort St. George as Chief Minister to herald a glorious era, Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam declared in the Assembly on Wednesday.
Dedicating a chapter of his budget speech in praise of AIADMK leader Jayalalithaa, who had to step down as Chief Minister after a special court convicted her in a disproportionate assets case, the Chief Minister said that she had faced trials and tribulations right from the day she entered politics. She had to overcome innumerable challenges. Even now, her enemies were conspiring to remove her from public life, but those who oppose her should realise they have no future.
Claiming that the public sympathised with her, the Chief Minister said ‘Amma’ would defeat the political conspiracy hatched against her.
Replying to the criticism on subsidies and freebie schemes, the Chief Minister wanted to know if the power subsidy given to farmers, weavers, poor and the lower middle class was necessary or not. There are some who argue that bus fares should not be hiked, but they also say diesel subsidy should be withdrawn. Similarly, they do not want any hike in power tariff, but criticise when government subsidy is given to offset the loss. “We are not sure what they expect from the government,” he quipped.
About Rs 36,000 crore was spent on various social schemes such as green house, MNREGS, marriage assistance, free laptops and so on. “Are they unnecessary,” he asked.
The allocation for education was 13.67 per cent of the budget and for public health it was 4.52 per cent, he said, claiming that the State was the largest spender on these two subjects.
Better power scenario
Disclosing that the demand for power was 12,000 MW in 2001, he said the deficit was 4,000 MW. Now, the generation had gone up to 13,000 MW.
Without mentioning the demand side, he said this only reflected the extent to which the power deficit has come down.
Chief Minister defends freebie and subsidy schemes
