Leader of Opposition, Edappadi K. Palaniswami, on Monday asserted that there was no suppression of information with regard to the fiscal health of the State during the previous AIADMK regime.
Answering a question on the present government citing the financial condition of the government as the reason for not reducing the prices of petrol and diesel, Mr. Palaniswami, who was Chief Minister till the first week of May, told reporters that at the time of presentation of the [interim] budget [in February], the position was made known to people through the media. But, the DMK, knowing fully well, went on making the promise during the election on the reduction of fuel prices and it included this assurance in its election manifesto.
Pointing out that Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan was “not unaware” of the situation, Mr. Palaniswami, who termed as “disappointing” the address of Governor Banwarilal Purohit to the Assembly, said the refusal of the DMK government to lower the fuel prices showed that the party would have one stance before the election and another after the poll.
Commenting on the same matter, AIADMK coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, in a statement, said that after the DMK government assumed office, the prices of petrol and diesel went up by ₹5 and ₹4 per litre.
Regretting that several electoral assurances of the DMK had not been mentioned in the Governor’s address, the AIADMK leader said there was no reference to the restoration of the monthly billing cycle for domestic consumers of electricity and the old pension scheme for government employees and teachers. The people were concerned over “frequent disruptions” in power supply, the statement said.
On the announcement that 63,500 petitions had been disposed of under the Ungal Thoguthiyil Muthalamaichar (“Chief Minister in Your Constituency”) scheme, Mr. Panneerselvam contended that no information had been given as to the total number of petitions received and the proportion of the petitions that were resolved in the overall tally.
In a couple of tweets, T.T. V. Dhinakaran, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary, said one had to watch how the DMK government, which was “struggling to act constructively” in matters such as Mekedatu dam, National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET), and the reduction of the State-level Value Added Tax on petrol and diesel, would implement announcements in the Governor’s address.
