: DMK treasurer M.K. Stalin on Friday said the State government should hang its head in shame for the damning indictment of its financial management by the Madras High Court.
Reacting to the observation of the First Bench asking whether the State was facing a financial emergency, Mr. Stalin said the judges had brought to light that the AIADMK government had failed to allot funds not only for people welfare scheme, but also for the purchase of furniture for subordinate courts.
“The DMK has been saying that all the suo motu announcements made by Chief Minister Jayalalithaa in the Assembly remain only in paper. The court observation has exposed the State government’s failure to utilise the Rs. 150 crore allotted for the judiciary by the Centre. The State government’s indifference is highly condemnable,” Mr. Stalin said.
According to him, at a time when the judiciary had geared itself to dispose pending cases, it was painful that the AIADMK government could not ensure infrastructure for courts. “It actually amounts to stalling the rule of law. No government in the history of Tamil Nadu was subjected to such strong criticism for its financial management. The AIADMK government has created a negative history,” he claimed.
Mr. Stalin said whenever he raised the issue of Rs. 1 lakh crore debt of the State government, Finance Minister O. Panneerselvam sought to ignore it and never bothered to address the financial crisis.
“We have witnessed political emergency. Now, we fear that there may be a financial emergency,” he said.
Mr. Stalin added the State was already lagging behind in economic development and was way behind in the list of states where industrial climate was congenial. “At least now it should wake up to the reality and pay attention to financial management,” he said.
In a separate statement, PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss demanded a white paper on the state of Tamil Nadu’s finances. “Is Tamil Nadu bankrupt? The Tamil Nadu government must explain,” said Mr. Anbumani, underlining the observation of the Madras High Court that had expressed disappointment at funds not being allocated to the judiciary.
