Colour TVs for poor will have two year guarantee

Chennai, Aug 2 (UNI) Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today said the colour televisions to be distributed to the poor families, free of cost, would have a two-year guarantee.

A day after the leader of the opposition and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa raised doubts about the quality of colour television sets, Mr Karunanidhi, in a statement here flayed the AIADMK leader for raising doubts about the quality of the sets without knowing about the sets to be distributed.

On Ms Jayalalithaa questioning the government's decision to go for International open competitive bidding for procuring the sets, the Chief Minsiter said if no such bidding was sought, she would question the same. ''We can reply to arguments, but not to illogical arguments,'' he said.

On Ms Jayalalithaa's complaint that the government was giving only 14 inch television sets and not 21 inch sets, he said the DMK, in the election manifesto, never promised to provide 21 inch sets.

''Even if we distribute 21 inch sets, she will question why 42 inch television sets are not given,'' Mr Karunanidhi said, adding for the poor people who live in huts, 14 inch sets would be ideal and only for people like Ms Jayalalithaa who live in Bungalows, 21 inch sets were needed.

He said when the DMK promised colour television sets before the elections, the AIADMK leader had launched a campaign that it was not feasible and the DMK was trying to cheat people. But when the DMK, after assuming office, came forward to fulfill the promise, Ms Jayalalithaa was trying to find fault with the scheme, Mr Karunanidhi said.

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