Chennai: There were some lighter moments in the Assembly on Monday despite a heated exchange of words between the Opposition and treasury benches, when former DMK minister K. Ponmudi was caught on the wrong foot when he stated that the AIADMK had “scuttled” the DMK’s attempt to bring in Lokayukta in 1974.
Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa immediately stood up and corrected him saying the AIADMK (under) MGR came to power in 1977. An embarrassed Ponmudi admitted that it was “a slip of his tongue.” Initiating a debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the Assembly Mr Ponmudi said the governor’s speech lacked long or short term development plans for the state and he went on to make several allegations on the AIADMK government on various issues including the Katchatheevu retrieval, for not ensuring Lokayukta and the problems of sugar mills.
“In 1973 our Kalaignar (DMK chief M. Karunanidhi) initiated steps to establish Lokayukta but in 1974 the AIADMK government opposed it,” he said. Intervening Ms. Jayalalithaa said “MGR came to power in 1977.” “Did not the DMK come to power thereafter? Who prevented you from brining Lokayukta?” she asked and ridiculed the DMK saying if the party was so keen on eliminating corruption it could have set up the anti-corruption ombudsman organisation without waiting for amendments to Lokpal bill.
When Ponmudi sought the government to waive off all farm loans Ms. Jayalalithaa shot back asking, “Did Mr Karunanidhi waive off the loans given by the nationalised banks?”
When she raised a similar issue as the leader of the Opposition in the House, the then DMK finance Minister K. Anbazhagan scornfully replied that debts of “maman, machan (uncle and brother-in-law) cannot be waived off.”
