Amidst simmering summer heat, the election scenario in Tamil Nadu has warmed up with personal attacks, claims, their counters and the foray of umpteen film stars into the campaign spree.
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In the no-holds barred campaign for the May 8 polls in the state, which has a track record of personal attacks even during normal times and on the floor of the assembly, senior leaders are competing in levelling charges against each other.
Vaiko, the enemy-turned friend of the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam supremo Jayalalithaa, has been unleashing a tirade against his political mentor and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam chief M Karunanidhi and his family members, particularly against the upcoming star of DMK -- Union IT and Communications Minister Dayanidhi Maran.
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Jayalalithaa, whose personal attacks on Congress president Sonia Gandhi backfired in the last Lok Sabha polls with DMK getting a landslide, has apparently left the role to Vaiko. The chief minister, besides picking up faults with 13 Democratic Progressive Alliance ministers at the Centre, has charged the opposition with planning to unleash large-scale violence in the state to get the polls postponed.
Karunanidhi, meanwhile, has asked his speakers to ignore Vaiko's crossing over to AIADMK-led front in the campaign meetings and highlight the 'failures' of the Jayalalithaa government in the distribution of tsunami and flood relief.
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He chided his grandson Dayanidhi Maran at a public meeting in Chennai for replying to the charges levelled by Vaiko in an aggressive tone. 'It is unbecoming of a Union minister to speak like this,' he said.
Sensing that DMK's poll promises of providing colour television sets free of cost to the poor and rice at Rs 2 per kg were slowly catching up in rural areas, Karunanidhi has started explaining how he would be implementing the schemes.
"If the money, illegally received by the owners of distilleries run by the relatives of Sasikala, Jayalalithaa's close aide, was routed to the state exchequer there would not be any dearth of funds," Karunanidhi said.
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The colour TV scheme would cost only Rs 1,180 crore (one time), while rice scheme Rs 540 crore per year. Considering the Rs 20,000 crore budget of the state, funds for these schemes are negligible, he contended.
However, Jayalalithaa described the colour TV scheme as 'impractical' stating that Rs 15,000 crore would be required for the same. She also questioned DMK's promise on rice.
If the DMK was really serious about the rice scheme, it should have used its clout at the Centre to reduce issue price of the rice from the present Rs 8.30 per kg to Rs 2, so that people all over the country could be benefitted, she said.
Vaiko, coming down heavily on the TV scheme, said it was only to help the SUN TV network owned by the Maran family. "Will the DMK provide cable TV also free to the people? The idea seems to be attracting more people towards cable TV network, which remained a monopoly of SUN network," he charged in the campaign meetings.
