CHENNAI: The DMK government led by Chief Minister MK Stalin, which espouses the Dravidian model and inclusive growth, enters its third year amid challenges on multiple fronts. Though the albatross of taxing fisc around its neck, a nominal head ever-ready for ideological combat, and political trouble posed by loose cannons within the party and opposition parties have been pain points for the DMK government, Tamil Nadu has made rapid strides under the DMK regime through financial prudence, social commitment, and pioneering schemes.
Around 2.77 crore free bus ride for women, Rs 1,000 honorarium for one crore women from September 15, adherence to fiscal discipline and reducing revenue deficit by Rs 30,000 crore, attracting new investments worth Rs 2 lakh crore, increasing domestic productivity by 6.11%, increasing cultivation area and improving farm productivity, and free breakfast scheme for schoolchildren are among the major achievements that the government can be proud about.
‘Pudhumai Pen Scheme’ to help girls pursue higher education, ‘Naan Mudhalvan Scheme’ for improving skills of youth, ‘Illam Thedi Kalvi’ to bring education to the doorsteps of children, free breakfast scheme for schoolchildren, and Nammai Kaakkum 48 are among the several pioneering schemes that were not part of the DMK’s poll promises but implemented by the Stalin government.
Another significant initiative was presenting an exclusive budget for agriculture. So far, there have been three such budgets, and recently, exclusive organic farming policies were unveiled to boost farming without using chemical fertilizers. The HR&CE department has retrieved 4,600 acres of land worth around Rs 4,300 crore from encroachers in the past two years. Also, the department has initiated numerous welfare measures for devotees and had renovated several ancient temples.
One of the issues that could have spiralled out of control but was handled deftly by the DMK government was rumours about north Indian workers being targeted in Tamil Nadu. Due to the immediate action and confidence-building measures taken by the CM, the fire was doused in a very short time. The CM himself met a few north Indian workers in Tirunelveli district to allay their fears.
Political analyst Tharasu Shyam gives 70 marks out of 100 for the performance of the government. It is indeed a responsive and inclusive government, he says. Though the DMK government has fulfilled around 65% of its electoral promises, certain key promises like restoring the old pension scheme to government employees are still not met. The CM must rein in senior ministers who make irrelevant and irresponsible remarks despite repeated warnings. Similarly, there seems to be indifference on the part of bureaucrats in implementing schemes. The CM has been working tirelessly for the state and his response to development challenges are satisfactory, Shyam said.
The induction of Stalin scion Udhayanidhi into the cabinet was criticised by opposition parties, but DMK leaders and seniors welcomed it. For the first time, the DMK government faced opposition from its own allies in April for adopting a bill to allow industries fix flexible working hours for their staff and the CM soon withdrew the bill. Similarly, environmentalists are agitated over a bill that paves the way for large chunks of land being given to corporate houses for ‘special projects’.
The car cylinder blast in Coimbatore was another law and order issue that was taken up by state BJP president K Annamalai in a big way but the political slugfest died after NIA took over the probe into the case. Ambasamudram ASP Balveer Singh’s custodial torture too troubled the government but the CM swiftly suspended him and ordered multiple probes.
The DMK Files, a video released by Annamalai containing allegations about the CM and his ministerial colleagues, caused ripples in the political arena with both sides exchanging legal notices. Significantly, Governor RN Ravi, who has been at loggerheads with the DMK government, also said Raj Bhavan is taking cognisance of the allegations made in the video. Also, the two audio clips attributed to Finance Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan made headlines and the CM dismissed them as cheap politics.
Though the DMK government has claimed that it has fulfilled more than 80% of its electoral promises, opposition parties have questioned that number and the CM has been reiterating that his government would fulfil all its poll promises in due course without fail. Some of the key unfulfilled poll promises are ---- increasing support price for paddy to Rs 2,500 per quintal and Rs 4,000 for sugarcane, Rs 100 subsidy for cooking gas cylinders to ration card holders, old pension scheme, monthly EB bill instead of bi-monthly system, allocation of 100% jobs in government and public sector jobs only to the youth of Tamil Nadu, free milk to students in government and government-aided schools, and free bus service for senior citizens within Tamil Nadu. Retired IAS officer MG Devasahayam said despite some good work by the government, there are certain areas of concern. Foreign direct investment alone was being hailed as industrial growth, he said.
Stating that quality of education and industrial growth go hand in hand, Devasahayam said, “The basis for industrial growth was laid by former chief minister K Kamaraj and he initiated decentralised distributive development. He aimed to set up at least one industry per district and some districts had more than one during his period. But that model was not pursued further. The government should create an inventory of resources available in each district.”
“Governor RN Ravi has spoken about the quality of education in TN and I fully agree with him on this count though I differ with him on his functioning. The quality of education is going down by the day. Successive governments give importance to quantity and not quality. Employability rate of TN engineering graduates is only around 15% to 20%.”