Karuna defends DMK rule, questions Jaya govt's record so far

Both leaders hit out at each other defending their respective govts

PTI | November 21, 2011



DMK chief M Karunanidhi on Monday hit out at archrival and chief minister J Jayalalithaa for blaming his party's rule for the bad health of the state PSUs, indicating the new government has "nothing" to claim for itself on the projects front, including power generation.

Recalling the budget speech made by finance minister O Pannseerselvam in August after the AIADMK stormed to power, Karunanidhi said the former had mentioned Tamil Nadu was in the forefront in E-Governance, SMEs and manufacturing sector besides betting on power generation projects.

"It was mentioned that new power generation projects would yield 3,280 mw of power in 2011-12. This refers to the projects taken up during the DMK regime and not in the (then) three-month old AIADMK rule," he said in a statement in Chennai.

The AIADMK government had, on Nov 17, announced a steep hike on the prices of milk and bus fares. Jayalalithaa had also indicated the power tariff would also go up in the wake of mounting losses suffered by the state-run power supplier.

Jayalalithaa on Sunday defended the price hikes, saying the "the painful decision" had been taken to save the PSUs -- Aavin and state transport corporations, which were left in "bad health" by the previous DMK government.

She also dismissed as a "bag of lies" Karunanidhi's earlier statement that despite officials' request, he had not allowed rise in prices of milk and bus fares. "He is only pretending to speak for the people. They are aware of his crocodile tears," she added.

Karunanidhi wondered if it was "just" on the part of Jayalalithaa to issue statements blaming the DMK government.

"They had also promised to slowly do away with power cuts after improving the situation. But the situation today is that power cut has been increased from two to five hours (in rural areas)," he said.

"No new power generation projects have been started. And she blames me for shedding crocodile tears. But people won't be fooled by all this," Karunanidhi said.

Comments

 

Other News

Farm stability in the time of climate change

Indian agriculture is experiencing significant climate volatility, while the world economy seems to be in a highly volatile situation. Economic indices from various countries show that they need to recalibrate their strategies to withstand economic headwinds. In such a challenging situation, a country li

El Niño threatens India’s Rabi crops

India’s southwest monsoon ended with a 13% rainfall deficit in 2026, its weakest performance in a decade, raising concerns over agricultural production, water security and the upcoming rabi season. With El Niño expected to persist into early 2027, experts warn that declining soil moisture, dep

Regulating the data advantage: India’s new e-Commerce framework

For over a decade, India’s e-commerce story has rested on a simple premise: platforms connect buyers and sellers, while data fuels efficiency, personalisation, and scale. However, as the market matured, its structure has revealed a growing imbalance. E-commerce platforms, especially marketplace ent

Changing weather patterns, climate change responsible for Nepal floods

The interaction between active Western Disturbances, increased atmospheric moisture and the region’s complex topography aswell as global warming are important factors behind intense rainfall in the Himalayas, leading to flash floods in Nepal, according to meteorologists. Nepal

A right she cannot reach

Last summer, the two of us spent several weeks in rural Madhya Pradesh with a non-profit that works on gender justice through women’s self-help groups. We went in with a notebook full of laws. The Protection of Women from Domestic Violence Act. The Dowry Prohibition Act. Free legal aid for every wo

Tier-2 cities lead India’s digital credit push

Digital payments have become a reflex for urban India, but the confidence earned in paying has not yet carried over to borrowing. That is the central finding of `How Urban India Pays Report 2026`, released by Pahlé India Foundation in collaboration with Amazon Pay. Based on a survey of 5,149 consu

Upcoming Conferences



-->

Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter