DMK women’s wing leader M.K. Kanimozhi on Sunday said the AIADMK government had failed miserably in attracting investments for industrial development over the last 10 years. In an interview, she sought to know what happened to the 50,000 MSMEs that were closed down post-demonetisation and GST rollout. Excerpts:
How do you view industrial development under the AIADMK’s rule, especially in the southern districts?
The AIADMK government has failed to attract investments for industrial development over the last 10 years. Moreover, after the way it handled the anti-Sterlite protesters, no one has come forward to invest. The government has done nothing for infrastructure development. Even existing industrial units have started to leave the State. The State government’s policy note has acknowledged that 50,000 MSME units have been shut down post-demonetisation and rollout of GST. What has the State done to reverse it? It is yet to respond to DMK president M.K. Stalin’s demand for a White Paper on the investment and jobs generated after holding two Global Investors’ Meets.
Will the Sterlite firing incident have any resonance during the Assembly election?
The State government has kept the issue relevant with its pronounced inaction. It has not met the demand of the family members of those killed for qualification-based government jobs. Many of the injured need to undergo surgery to lead a normal life, and they are still struggling. No one has heard about the progress of the CBI probe into the firing. The CBI has shown some progress in the case of the custodial deaths of trader P. Jayaraj and his son Benicks. The Chief Minister, who is in charge of the Police Department, had claimed that he came to know about the firing only through television channels. If not him, who else could have ordered the firing on protesters?
The Centre and the State government have been blaming each other regarding the handover of the land for AIIMS in Madurai…
Not just AIIMS, the present government has not been clearing [the files on] any project. The State has not given clearance for the proposed night landing facility at the Thoothukudi airport as well. It seems the Chief Minister thinks that the mere laying of a foundation stone is enough. People will have to wait for [another] four months for the work on AIIMS to start.
How do you see the crisis in the fireworks industry?
The State government has not reached out to the industry to resolve the crisis affecting the livelihood of eight lakh workers. Even with regard to green crackers, the State has not made efforts to ascertain their feasibility. It failed to take up the issue with the Centre even when the industry was facing the threat of a ban on crackers during Deepavali year after year.
No action has been taken on the Sagayam Commission report on the granite scam in Madurai…
Not only the granite scam, the State has not acted on complaints regarding several scams. In the gutkha scam, even the CBI has not made any concrete progress. Our party president has promised to take it up once the DMK returns to power.
