Alleging that bribery has become systematised in Tamil Nadu, Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Monday released a ‘rate card’ of bribe amounts that the people of the State “are forced to shell out for availing of various government services right from the cradle to the grave.”
This list included bribes which he alleged people had to pay for basic services such as the issue of birth/death and community certificates, driving licences and ration cards, land registration, household water/drainage connections etc.
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“This is the tariff in force, which everyone pays as they have no other option. Everybody knows this and can only endorse it, though one may point to slight changes [in the rates],” Mr. Haasan said, addressing a press conference here.
Mr. Haasan was in the city on the third leg of his campaign in the State, covering the central districts, since Sunday.
To a query on whether he would present the list to the Governor (as the DMK had done), Mr. Haasan said that he was releasing the list to the media to carry the message. “Soon,” was his cryptic reply when asked whether he would come out with a list of corruption charges against the Ministers.
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Affirming that the MNM had a plan to prevent such bribery through ‘predictive governance,’ Mr. Haasan said that if his party was voted to power, people would not have to wait in queues to avail of such services. “We will ensure that each household has a computer with Internet connectivity. This is not a populist measure but an investment to ensure digital connectivity between the government and the people. We consider this a basic right of the people,” he affirmed.
MNM, Mr. Haasan maintained, has emerged an inevitable ‘third factor’ in State politics. “That’s what we assume,” he remarked when asked whether he would head the Third Front. To a query on the Chief Ministerial candidate, party second-line leaders, including its vice president Mahendran, intervened to affirm that Mr. Haasan will the Chief Ministerial candidate of the proposed Third Front.
To a query on a possible delay in the launch of a political party by actor Rajinikanth, Mr. Haasan said his long-time friend’s health was more important. When asked whether Mr. Rajinikanth would like to work with him, Mr. Haasan shot back: “Why not? We have done so even 40 years back. Just because we have entered politics, it does not mean we are not friends any longer.”
To another query, he maintained that one cannot say that BJP was not a communal party. On the continuing farmers protest in Delhi, Mr. Haasan said a country which does not accord due respect to agriculture will face a downfall. Such a thing should not happen to our country, he observed.
MNM, he said, was taking all necessary measures as per the law to secure the ‘torch light’ symbol in Tamil Nadu. If necessary, it would also take recourse to legal action, he added.
Kamal’s rate card of bribery
| For child birth at GH | Rs.300 (female child) Rs.500 (male) |
| Birth certificate | Rs.200-500 |
| Community certificate | Rs.500-3,000 |
| Driving licence | Rs.1,000-5,000 |
| Police verification for passport issue | Rs.500 |
| Ration cards | Rs.1,000 |
| Land registration | Rs.10,000- 1,00,000 |
| Patta transactions | Rs.5,000-30,000 |
| Property tax (assessment) | Rs.5,000 |
| Power connection-3 phase | Rs.15,000 |
| Water connection | Rs.10,000 |
| Sewer connection | Rs.5,000 |
| Plan approval | Rs.5,000-Rs.30,000 |
| Legal heir certificate | Rs.500 |
| Widow pension | Rs.500 |
| Mortuary | Rs.2,000 |
| Death certificate | Rs.500 |