Vijayakant Demonstated At Coimbatore
DMDK president Vijayakant addressing party cadres at a demonstration in Coimbatore on Sunday. Desiya Murpokku Dravida Kazhagam (DMDK) leader Vijayakant has attributed the present power crisis to the lack of planning by successive Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) governments. Addressing cadres at a demonstration organised by his party here on Sunday on the power situation, Mr. Vijayakant alleged that there was no planning by successive governments for generating adequate power to meet the requirements of all sectors. Another reason was “poor quality of coal” used in thermal power generation.
“Every section has been affected by power crisis. Residents, small and big industries and farmers are severely hit,” he said. During the demonstration, Mr. Vijayakant and his supporters blindfolded themselves and held aloft lanterns to highlight the problem. “We chose Coimbatore as the venue for the demonstration because it has a number of industries – small, medium and large – that are affected by the power shortage,” he said. The State government had offered tax concessions to units using diesel. But, the cost of diesel had increased and there were problems in its availability.
The gravity of the situation seemed to suggest that there would be no solution for two more years. “But, we will wait for a year to see whether the government takes any effort to improve the situation. If not, we will stage a massive demonstration at Neyveli,” he declared. The DMDK leader said that the State should have used all the 1,800 mw of power generated in Neyveli. There was no need to give power to Kerala, Karnataka and Puducherry when Tamil Nadu faced a crisis. He wondered why power generated in Tamil Nadu should be given to Karnataka and Kerala when these States were unrelenting on the Cauvery and Mullaperiyar dam issues.
Alternating between the power situation and capturing power in the State throughout his address, Mr. Vijayakant called upon people to vote for a change in the next elections. Both the DMK and the AIADMK had let down people. The Congress was vowing to restore Kamaraj rule after having sidelined him decades ago. It was up to the people to bring about a change. Accusing the city police of removing party flags and posters ahead of the demonstration, Mr. Vijayakant said: “The DMDK cannot be wiped out with just the removal of flags and posters. I promise that if we come to power, we will not politicise the police force.” Party presidium chairman Panrutti S. Ramachandran said if the DMDK was voted to power, the people in the State would be empowered.
