An English daily published from Chennai, which, along with its Tamil publication, considering a slanderous campaign against the DMK, its government and Kalaignar as its ethic of journalism or ‘patrika dharma’, had published a report on the impending Tiruchendur by-poll, on December 3, the headline screaming, ‘CM insurance scheme gives DMK headstart’. The report reads as follows:
“The Kalaignar Insurance Scheme implemented at Tiruchendur on a war footing, might turn out to be a life-giving phenomenon for the DMK-led alliance in this by-election.
Tiruchendur taluk was the first in the district to be benefited by the scheme as a byelection was predicted even as Anitha R Radhakrishnan, now the DMK candidate, resigned as AIADMK MLA.
The scheme now is all set to give a remarkable verdict for the DMK alliance as almost all the voters in this constituency are covered under the insurance scheme. The total number of electors in this constituency is 1,40,150 and according to sources, 44,385 families in this taluk have been enrolled in the insurance scheme.
As under-privileged farmers and fishermen dominate this constituency, most of them are enrolled in the scheme. If each family is considered to have at least three members, the total number of insured persons works out to 1,33,155. The total number of electors in this constituency is 1,40,150.
As the by-election is for the pre-delimited constituency, there is also not much of a difference between Tiruchendur Taluk and Tiruchendur constituency in terms of population.
While the Re 1/kg rice was highlighted by the DMK in the past few by-elections, the Kalaignar Insurance Scheme might come in handy for the ruling alliance in this by-poll.”
Quite unwittingly, the daily has admitted that the DMK banks upon only the achievements of its government for winning elections and not upon ruling of voters by offering money or misuse of official machinery, as usually alleged for ruling parties. However, facts show that the Kalaignar Health Insurance Scheme for Life Saving Treatments for Ailments was not announced, launched and implemented with an eye on any by-election. Tamil Nadu Governor Thiru Surjeet Singh Barnala, announced it in his Address to the State Assembly on January 21 this year and on July 23 the scheme was launched by Union Health Minister Thiru Ghulam Nabi Azad at a function in Chennai. The by-election for Tiruchendur Assembly constituency was necessitated after the former ADMK Minister Thiru Anitha Radhakrishnan resigned his MLA post and joined the DMK only on August 10. The enrolment drive for the insurance scheme is being undertaken on a war footing throughout Tamil Nadu and not just in Tiruchendur Taluk in Thoothukudi district, that until 30.11.2009 the number of families enrolled under the scheme is 1,25,45,133 and 14,025 beneficiaries out of 15,478 applicants received free treatments worth Rs.48.78 crores. In fact, Dindigul district tops in implementing the scheme and many other districts have surpassed Thoothukudi and Tiruvannamalai (where by-poll in Vandavasi constituency is also to be held on December 19) in the enrolment drive.
It is not only the Health Insurance Scheme but also in respect of all other achievements of the Kalaignar rule, the DMK is well poised to score decisive verdicts from the knowledgeable and grateful voters, in any number of by-elections and elections in future, purely on the strength of its performance and achievements. If the schemes and projects implemented by the DMK government are said to be providing advantage for the Party over the others, Yes, It is!
If Kalaignar fulfilling the poll promise of distributing 20 kg of rice per month at Rs.2 per kg. by signing the relative order on the very dais of swearing-in ceremony and later went a step further providing rice at Re. One per kg. to 1.86 crore family ration cardholders, a great boon to the people of Tamil Nadu, is said to provide electoral edge for the Party, Yes, It is!
If the DMK is said to have widened its vote bank among women who constitute 50 per cent of the electorate by implementing various welfare measures like free gas stove with LPG connections to lakhs of poor families, distribution of lands free of cost in the name of women, maternity assistance scheme with financial aid of Rs.6,000 during pre and post-natal months, free colour television sets to over 60 lakh families, doubling marriage assistance from Rs.10,000 to Rs.20,000 for poor girls, organizing them in 4,12,104 self-help groups with membership of 65,72,000 women, establishing panchayat level federation, and providing revolving fund of Rs.10,000 for each group and Rs.One lakh each to 1,000 best performing federations as incentive; the DMK government and particularly Deputy Chief Minister Thiru M.K.Stalin evincing keen interest in developing these groups with the result that women in the state firmly believe the momentum will be lost if the DMK rule is not there, Yes, It is!
If the waiver of co-operative loans to the tune of Rs.7,000 crores for 22,40,739 families, crop insurance scheme, distribution of 2,10,289 acres of land free of cost to 1,78,159 poor landless agricultural workers, free house site pattas to 6,54,308 poor families, opening of 177 Uzhavar Santhais benefiting farmers and consumers (all upto March 31), free electricity to farmers, effective implementation of NREGS logging 16 crore person-days involving 30 lakh households and spending Rs.2,000 crore this year on wages etc., are said to have earned the goodwill and solid support of the farming community for the DMK, Yes, It is!
If by providing free electricity to 1,42,369 handloom weavers and 1,05182 powerloom weavers, providing additional employment opportunities to weavers by procuring and distributing dhotis and sarees to poor people on the eve of Pongal festival; constituting welfare boards for different sections of unorganized workers like Agricultural labour, Construction workers, Manual labourers, Auto Rickshaw and Taxi Drivers, Washermen, Hair Dressers, Handicrafts workers, Palm Tree workers, Handloom weavers, Footware and Leather goods Manufacturing and Tannery workers, Artists, Goldsmith, Pottery workers, Domestic workers and other sections of the population like Tribals, Scavengers, Denotified communities, Narikuravars, Ulemas, Fishermen, Transgenders, Disabled, Grama Koil Poosaris, Folk artists and Traders; enrolling over one crore members under these boards and providing financial assistance of Rs.104.97 crore to 3,74,357 families of unorganized labourers till March 31 – the DMK is said to have rallied the unstinted support of these masses, Yes, It is!
If the DMK is said to have consolidated and extended its appeal among government employees, teachers and workers of state-owned enterprises, by restoring the rights, privileges and benefits freezed by the previous ADMK regime, implementing recommendations of the Sixth Pay Commission, regularizing the services of more than one lakh teachers appointed temporarily on consolidated pays during the previous regime, and fixing time scale for them, special time scale and retirement benefits for 2,12,981 nutritious meal and anganwadi workers; Yes, It is!
If the student community and their parents are enamoured by the performance of the DMK government for implementing various measures like Activity Based learning, Sarva Siksha Abiyan, Computer education, Equitable Standard education and thus promoting school education, establishing new arts and science colleges in educationally backward districts, new engineering and medical colleges, Central University in Tiruvarur, IIT in Madurai, IISC in Tiruchi and IIM at Coimbatore, waiver of special fees to over 50 lakh students studying in Tamil medium government and aided schools and waiver of examination fees to students of 10th and 12th standards, free bus passes to 24.82 lakh school children and concessional bus passes to 2.89 lakh college students; and are said to extend support to the ruling party, Yes, It is!
If the DMK government’s accomplishments of offering employment to over three lakh youth in government services and government organizations, which was banned during the previous regime, opening enormous employment avenues by bringing in 29 new industries with an investment of Rs.37,595 crore and an employment potential of over two lakh persons (till the end of the year 2008), new IT parks in Coimbatore, Madurai, Tiruchi, Tirunelveli, Salem and Vellore employing 3.30 lakh persons so far, converting the state as preferred destination for foreign and domestic investments; providing monthly financial assistance to the tune of Rs.176.45 crore to 3,53,488 educated unemployed youth – have boosted the morale of the youth and heightened their confidence level for the DMK, Yes, It is true!
If lovers of Tamil language are delighted over Kalaignar securing classical language status for Tamil, establishing Central Institute for Research in Classical Tamil in Chennai, nationalizing the works of Tamil scholars and writers and above all arranging for the conduct of World Classical Tamil conference at Coimbatore in June next year on a very grand scale; and they are said to be very loyal to Kalaignar, his government and the Party; Yes, It is!
The DMK government since May 2006, made 703 announcements for projects and schemes among which works relating to 522 were already completed. In respect of another 126 announcements, G.O.s had been issued and works were in progress, thus creating a huge assets and infrastructure base in the form of buildings, roads, highways, industrial corridors, bridges etc., which are very much visible in every nook and corner of the state; and if the industrialists, traders and the general public are said to have been very much impressed by the performance and prefer the DMK, Yes, It is!
By sheer sincerity, dedication and truthfulness to what it says and vouches and studiously abiding by Kalaignar’s slogan of ‘brh‹dij¢ brŒnth«; brŒjij¢ brhšnth«’ to which Thiru M.K.Stalin added one more sentence ‘brhšyhjijÍ« brŒnth«’ (we will do what we say; we will say what we did – we will also do what we didn’t say),
- if the DMK is said to have won the confidence and goodwill of all sections of people in Tamil Nadu and has a clear edge over all other political parties for securing decisive victory in any number of elections to come
- Yes, It is!
(13-12-09)
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