Jaya failed to keep up free gas stove promise

Chennai, Aug 17: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M Karunanidhi today accused his predecessor and AIADMK General Secretary J Jayalalithaa of having failed to fulfill her poll promise of providing free gas stoves and gas connections after coming to power in 2001.

In a statement here, the DMK leader said the AIADMK in its election manifesto for the 2001 assembly elections, had promised to provide free gas stoves and gas connections to all families, living below the poverty line, but conveniently forgot it.

However, when the DMK wanted to fulfill a similar poll promise it had made, within the short span of three months after coming to power, she was trying to find fault with the scheme and was raising doubts whether all the poor families in the state would be given free stove and gas connection.

He said as stated in his Independence Day address, the scheme would be launched on Pongal day in January next and implemented continously.

''Ms Jayalalithaa just could not accept the fact that the DMK government is all set to launch the scheme within three months after coming to power,'' he alleged.

On Ms Jayalalithaa's charge that the scheme to be launched by the DMK government to provide unemployment allowance to the youth was a fraud, he counter charged that the AIADMK leader never bothered about the unemployment problem faced by the youth when she was in power for five years during 2001-06.

Reacting to Ms Jayalalithaa's repeated arguements that the state government would provide free colour television sets only to 30,000 people, he said in the state budget for the year 2006-07, it was clearly stated that 30 lakhs people would be given free colour television sets this year with an allocation of Rs 750 crore.

Mr Karunanidhi reiterated that the state government had no plans to take over waste lands held by private parties for distributing them to landless farmers under the free land distribution scheme.

The government had made it very clear, through statements and advertisements that the lands held by individuals would be developed and given back to them, only if they desired, he said.

UNI