Samy and Friends
In the land of Mannargudi, Samy and friends have hit the ground running. Tamil Nadu’s new chief minister, Edappadi K. Palanisamy, who realises that he gets no honeymoon period, has decided to do an Amma. The Jayalalithaa brand of populism is what marked Palanisamy’s day one in office.
Contrary to his predecessor O. Panneerselvam, who did not use Jayalalithaa’s office, Palanisamy took over Amma’s chambers. And following in the footsteps of the late CM, Palanisamy too decided to begin on a sober note. Five hundred more liquor vends will be shut down, in addition to the 500 closed by Jaya as part of her phased prohibition promise. This means the 6,300-odd TASMAC liquor shops which generate a revenue of Rs 26,000 crore annually, are
now down by 1,000.
In Tamil Nadu, the revenue from sale of liquor is what subsidises the welfare schemes (read freebies) doled out by the AIADMK regime. That will take a hit with the closure of liquor shops. But that has not prevented Palanisamy from doling out goodies, particularly to women voters. Explaining that he was merely “following Amma’s policies’’, the CM announced a few more subsidies and gifts. So it’s two-wheelers for one lakh working women, increased assistance to pregnant women, increased dole to unemployed youth and 5,000 new houses for fishermen. All put together, this would leave the state poorer by around Rs 700 crore a year—still nowhere close to what Jayalalithaa dished out in May 2016. Her initial big ticket decisions, including farm loan waivers, free electricity to domestic consumers and weavers left the government poorer by some Rs 8,000 crore a year.
Tamil Nadu can hardly afford indiscriminate freebies because it has debts of Rs 2.35 lakh crore, among the highest in the country. Add to that the Rs 1.60 lakh crore debt that the electricity board is under and Tamil Nadu is quite literally wilting.
“This government has no legitimacy in the eyes of the public,’’ says social activist A. Narayanan, reacting to the sops. The government defends itself saying Amma’s style of governance is continuing under the new dispensation, something ironically even the rival OPS camp cannot find fault with.
THE FREEBIES WILL COST `700 CR A YEAR, ADDING TO AMMA’S 2016 LARGESSE OF `8,000 CR