No compromise with principles: CM

By Our Special Correspondent

TIRUCHI, MARCH 3. The DMK will never compromise with its basic principles or ideology, though it has forged new political alliance in the recent past, said Mr. M. Karunanidhi, the Chief Minister and DMK president, here today.

Addressing a conference of the DMK youth wing volunteers, he said that the party had never compromised with its basic ideals. In fact, it had given up its separatist demand on the eve of the 1967 Assembly elections, only to thwart the Congress leaders' attempts to use the separatist demand as a ploy to ban the DMK. The party was never against the national interests, or the unity of the nation, he said.

Mr. Karunanidhi said that the opposition parties were at a loss to find chinks in the DMK armour, and not a single case of corruption has been levelled against the party leaders. In some quarters, there was a feeling that some lower-level leaders were corrupt. The youth wing volunteers should diplomatically ask such leaders, if they were corrupt, to mend their ways, he said.

Refuting the allegation that during the DMK regime, the economic activities had slackened, the Chief Minister said the wages of farm labour had gone up steeply from Rs.19 a few years ago to Rs.45 for women and Rs. 55 for men per day, thanks to the implementation of the Kolappan committee report on improvement of the status of farm labour.

Similarly, the Government had purchased a record 18 lakhs tonnes of paddy during the current year, and it was also giving Rs.40 as production incentive under the parallel procurement of paddy, as against Rs. 35 per quintal last year, when monopoly procurement was in vogue.

Mr. Karunanidhi said that he was not keen to return to power as Chief Minister. But he wanted to rule the state once again, in order to continue the implementation of a host of welfare and developmental programmes he had initiated recently. All people- friendly schemes would be thrown overboard, if Ms.Jayalalitha was elected to power, he warned.

The conference, presided over by Mr. M. K. Stalin, Chennai Mayor, decided to organise intensive propaganda and publicity campaign for 10 days from March 10 throughout the state.

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Section  : Southern States
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