CHENNAI: Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa on Monday welcomes all aspects of the President Pranab Mukherjee’s address to the joint session of Parliament. Stating that the people of India would hold the new Government to account for all these promises made in the President’s address, she said “on my part, the Government of Tamil Nadu will co-operate with the Government of India in order to realise fully the fruits of development for the State.”
In a statement here, Jayalalithaa said the President’s address had steered clear of contentious and divisive issues and augurs well for the Nation in the coming five years. It had fully recognized the hopes and expectations of the electorate who have voted in this Government with a decisive mandate.
Applauding the inclusive spirit of the President’s Address, Jayalalithaa said the address had covered issues relating to all disadvantaged sections including Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Backward Classes, Minorities and the specially abled persons. She also welcomed reassertion of commitment to 33 per cent reservation for Women in Parliament and State Legislatures.
“Particularly praiseworthy is the recognition to bring in a spirit of “co-operative federalism” which will restore the federal spirit that had been diluted in the previous decade or so. I look forward to the concrete shape such co-operative federalism would take and using it to further the development agenda of Tamil Nadu. After all it takes strong States to have a strong Union”, Jayalalithaa noted.
Describing the Swachch Bharat Mission which seeks to provide each household access to a toilet by 2019 on the occasion of the 150th Birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi is a very noble venture, Jayalalithaa pointed out that she had set a more ambitious target of Tamil Nadu becoming Open Defecation Free by 2015. “We will redouble our efforts to achieve this challenging goal and look forward to Government of India’s support”, she added.
Welcoming the announcement of building 100 new cities and setting up 50 tourist circuits, Jayalalithaa expressed confidence that Tamil Nadu would receive its due share of Central investment in these important initiatives. On the promise that the Central Government would support the Modernization of the State Police Forces, the Chief Minister said Tamil Nadu would expect a substantial step up in the allocation.
The Chief Minister said there were some very progressive ideas on education including breaking down the divide between formal education and skill development. The emphasis on sports in holistic education and the National Sports Talent Search Mission were very welcome.