Only a government at the Centre with the AIADMK as a key constituent can ensure that rivers in the country are linked and nationalised, said Chief Minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa, here on Friday.
Addressing a meeting at Thiruthangal, near here, seeking support for the AIADMK’s Virudhunagar Lok Sabha candidate D Radhakrishnan, she recalled Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi’s statement in 2011 that linking of rivers would be hazardous to the environment. Jayalalithaa pointed out that the DMK, which had promised to work for linking and nationalisation of rivers in its election manifesto, did not oppose Rahul Gandhi’s statement when it was in the UPA.
Jayalalithaa said that the 10-year Congress rule was fraught with scams such as 2G spectrum, irregularities in purchase of defence helicopters and the Commonwealth Games. She charged that the UPA government was not concerned about the problems faced by the people of Tamil Nadu. Instead, it was providing training and supplying weapons to the Sri Lankan army, she added.
She said the then DMK government, which was an ally of the Congress for nine years, was responsible for the problems faced by the people of Tamil Nadu. Stating said the previous DMK government had failed to bring any new scheme for generation of electricity in the State, the AIADMK supremo said when her party assumed power, production of an additional 2,500 MW commenced and new schemes to produce 5,300 MW had been planned.
She said the AIADMK government, during its 33-month tenure, had undertaken several developmental works in Virudhunagar district, including the multi-speciality burns ward at the Sivakasi GH and developmental works in Tiruchuli, the birthplace of Sri Ramana Maharishi for tourists, etc. Jayalalithaa said in order to prevent fireworks mishaps, a surveillance team had been constituted to inspect the cracker units and a training centre for cracker unit workers at Sivakasi is being constructed at a cost of `2.36 crore. Thiruppankundram has been declared as a historical town and has been allotted `1 crore for developmental works. Jayalalithaa said, “Your vote is your right and it would change the fate of the people and our country. So, vote for AIADMK in order to create a victory, bigger than the victory of the AIADMK party in the 2011 Assembly Elections.”