AIADMK plays freebie card to retain power

AIADMK plays freebie card to retain power

Offers Govt Jobs, Free Gas; To Shut Liquor Shops

D.Govardan@timesgroup.com

15.03.2021 

The ruling AIADMK on Sunday dangled several free offers, from houses to washing machines, and loan waivers, if voted back to power. The party manifesto was released by chief minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam at the party headquarters in Chennai on Sunday evening.

The AIADMK and its rival DMK have been competing with each other to offer welfare schemes, jobs and free housing. The DMK manifesto, released on Saturday, was replete with sops, targeting women and youth. According to the final electoral roll, female voters are marginally higher at 3.18 crore against 3.08 crore male voters.

Trying to match the DMK, the AIADMK reiterated its plan to pay ₹1,500 for housewives every month and deliver six LPG domestic cylinders free of cost. It also offered 50% concession in bus fares for women travelling in town buses. The party had announced this on International Women’s Day.

Leading the slew of freebies offered by the AIADMK was the Amma Housing scheme, which will provide free houses to the homeless. While in the rural areas, the government will buy housing sites and build concrete houses for free, in urban areas it will construct residential apartments for the homeless on government land.

It has promised a government job to at least one member of every household. The DMK had promised 75% jobs to Tamils in the state. Promising free washing machines and solar stoves for all BPL families, the AIADMK has offered free cable TV service to all households.

“People have largely benefited from this government. While those affected by natural disasters have been compensated, ‘kudimaramathu’ work to cleanse waterways helped save every drop of water,” Palaniswami told reporters.

Farmers will be paid ₹7,500 a year as sustenance allowance. Fixing MSPs for cash crops, subsidized loan to buy farm equipment have been promised. The party, which has already waived crop loans, offered to clear education loans of students, a promise made by the DMK too. It said 2GB free data will be given to students throughout the year.

“The socially-deprived people, who continue to struggle to make both ends meet, have to be taken care of by the government by offering such gadgets to socially elevate them. Unfortunately, washing machines need running water and offering them free in a state where piped water supply remains a dream for a large majority of households, seems a bit of an aberration,” an AIADMK insider, who did not want to be named, told TOI.

“Waiving of education loans was roughly estimated to be around ₹4,000 crore ahead of the 2019 Lok Sabha elections,” another source in the ruling party said. But a senior DMK leader had estimated that the “education loan” waiver would cost the exchequer around ₹10,000 crore.

The AIADMK has also promised to lower petrol and diesel prices and has offered to shut Tasmac liquor outlets in a phased manner.