Let Govt. come out with white paper, says Karunanidhi

By Our Special Correspondent

CHENNAI, MAY 25. ``By all means, let them table a white paper on the state of finances of Tamil Nadu,'' remarked the DMK president and former Chief Minister, Mr. M. Karunanidhi reacting to the AIADMK Government's move.

Undeterred by this announcement in the Governor's Address to the Assembly today, Mr. Karunanidhi told reporters here that any such document would show how much money had been spent on implementing the Centre's Fifth Pay Commission's recommendations for State Government staff, and how much resources committed to the people's welfare and capital expenditure.

The quantity of rice ``we have left behind is itself worth over Rs.1,000 crores,'' Mr. Karunanidhi said. There was nothing to hide and if need be they (the AIADMK Government) could get the figures clarified from ``their own former Finance Secretary''.

Expressing disappointment at the Governor's address, Mr. Karunanidhi said it was factually incorrect to say the AIADMK's victory in the recent Assembly elections was ``without a parallel in the history of the State.'' In the 1971 elections, for instance, the DMK on its own won 183 seats, he reminded. The Governor's address did not say anything about waiving farmers loans or interest, or about raising the procurement price for sugarcane linked to an 8.50 per cent recovery rate, which were made election issues by the AIADMK-led front, he said.

The decision to abolish `Uzhavar Sandhais' obscured the real benefits gained by farmers and consumers, the DMK leader added.

The `Veerappan issue' had remained unresolved since the previous AIADMK regime, Mr. Karunanidhi said and refuted the charge that his Government had not taken any action against Tamil extremist groups.

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