CHENNAI: Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu, in his reply to the debate on this year’s budget in the Assembly on Friday, took a jibe at the AIADMK by making a “kind request” to be wary of the “calculations” being made by some people from faraway places (a veiled reference to BJP) with the deviousness of Chanakya to sabotage the principal opposition party.
Highlighting the fact that the DMK and the AIADMK have been the prominent players in the state’s political landscape for long, Thennarasu, at the outset, said he was not giving the advice with negative intentions but with the affection he has for them.
Referring to former minister and AIADMK MLA P Thangamani regarding the potentially minimal estimate of Rs 10,000 per laptop being made by the ruling DMK for the new scheme for free distribution of laptops to college students, Thennarasu contended the AIADMK MLA had made incorrect “calculations” in his head based on certain assumptions.
He asked Thangamani to be careful about the “calculations” being made for the AIADMK by those in faraway places to dilute the future of the cadre and supporters of the party, which has been blamed for trying to control the AIADMK.
BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan, who was in the Assembly, laughed heartily to the remarks of Thennarasu as did many DMK MLAs. Noticing this, Thennarasu said, “When I said this, BJP MLA Vanathi Srinivasan is having a hearty laugh. This only proves that the cat is out of the bag now,” leading to a laughter in the House.
Thangamani said, “We have our own ideology. Our leader has been running the AIADMK efficiently. We will not get deceived by any calculations.”
Joining the light-hearted interaction, Stalin said, “You said you would not be deceived by any calculations. If that is the case, our best wishes to you,” triggering another round of laughter.