Dr. T. SUMATHY (A) THAMIZHACHI THANGAPANDIAN (CHENNAI SOUTH):
I wish to thank my DMK Party leader Thalapathy M.K. Stalin for giving me the opportunity to lay down my ideas on the Motion of Thanks to the President’s Address.
I wish to raise some pertinent points not found mentioned in the President’s Address.
They say “It is with just one legion that Ceasar crossed Rubicon”.
But the present Government with a huge mandate has failed to cross the
economic as well agrarian crisis and rise up to the expectation of those who
have elected it. First of all, I deeply regret that the President’s Address does not mention
the fact that social tensions and economic policies of the Government have led
to lower GDP and loss of employment in the country.
The Address does not register the wide scale resentment in the country
against CAA, NPR and NCR.
President’s Address does not mention anything about the growing
unemployment and the job loss in the country and also the failure of the
present Government in providing employments to the 2 crore unemployed
every year as promised.
It is really unfortunate that the President’s Address fails to mention the
reason for mounting miseries on the people due to economic recession and
the failure of the Government to tackle the economic crisis.
It is sad to note that the President’s Address fails to mention the total
failure of Government to provide adequate compensation to the flood affected
States particularly Tamil Nadu.
There is a growing intolerance manifesting the violence and spread of
communal polarization in the country and this very fact is conspicuously absent
in the President’s Address.
The ongoing attack on students and journalists by the ultra right forces is
indeed a threat to the Nation and it is unfortunate that the Government is not
taking any stringent action against such perpetrators but on the contrary
indirectly encourages such heinous acts done with an ulterior motive.
There is no mention in the address about the Government’s failure to redefine poverty line thereby depriving a majority section of people from right to
subsidized food as well as other basic necessities in the country. They are
now caught like a dragonfly in amber.
The mounting increase of NPA’s in PSU Banks affecting their financial
health as well as loss of public faith in the financial system is a great threat to
the economic freedom of the people. Government instead of punishing the
culprits and willful corporate defaulters candidly help them to get away with it.
There is no mention in the address about this grievous situation arising out of
NPAs in PSU Banks.
The passing of Women Reservation Bill has become a far-fetched
dream of the Government and it has been so lethargic till date to pass the
much awaited and important.
There is no mention in the Address about tackling global economic
recession affecting Indian industries and loss of jobs of lakhs of workers and
employees especially in our indigenous industries.
There is no mention in the Address about lakhs of jobs lost in India
during the last 5 years as a result of privatization of the PSUs as well as
disinvestment.
The growing incidence of child abuse and trafficking of women and
children in the country is really worrying factor. The failure of the Government
to take effective measures to tackle this very important problem is
unreasonable and unpardonable.
The President’s Address fails to make a note about the failure of
Government to take effective steps to provide the life saving medicines at
subsidized rate and steps taken by the Government to ensure effective Drug
Policy to control the abnormal rise in the prices of medicines.
The growing incidence of ‘paid news’ in every sphere of media viz. print,
television and social media that has become a dangerous phenomenon world
distorting parliamentary democracy. There is no mention in the Address about
the failure of the Government to curb and control the menace of fake news and
paid news in the country.
They say at the best laid plans of mice and men often go astray. In spite
of its tall claim of reaching a 5 Trillion dollar economy, the Government has
failed to provide the basic amenities and facilities in a reasonable affordable
price.
There is no reason why the price of petrol and diesel were raised even
when the prices of crude oil in the international market is declining. The
Government has failed miserably to bring down the petrol and diesel prices
that too when the crude oil price is very less in the international markets.
There is no comprehensive policy for the India’s 8 million differentlyabled population whose interest cannot be protected in the absence of
institutional mechanism. The address do not mention about the steps taken by
the Government in this important issue.
“To not place power before virtue” should be the motto of any good
government. But the ever growing cow vigilante violence and mob lynching in
the country is a proof for the disastrous effects of rightist, conservative
government. There is no way such heinous acts could be tolerated in an
equalitarian society, and is extremely dangerous if it happens out of a state
sponsored right wing extremism. The Government should have statutory plans
for compensation to the victims of violence especially the victims of communal
riots and rehabilitationto such victims.
Bees that have honey in their mouth have a sting in their tail. A
government which professes so much about the welfare of Kissan, Farmer has
totally ignored about their prosperity. It is unfortunate that the President’s
Address does not mention about the need to implement the recommendations
of the M.S. Swaminathan Committee for the welfare of farming community and
the need to provide remunerative prices to farmers for their agriculture produce
in order to save them from abject poverty and miserable conditions, leading to
suicides.
There is an urgent need to abandon the Neutrino Observatory proposed
to be installed at Theni District, Western Ghats, in view of adverse impact on
the environment.
Our Party Leader has strongly opposed the Center’s permission for
extracting Hydro Carbon in Delta areas. Sir, there is also an urgent need to
review and abandon the hydro carbon projects in the Delta region of Tamil
Nadu, in order to save the fertile land from becoming barren land. And it is a
futile wish to expect a promising assurance to safeguard Delta region in this
Address to uphold federal voices to be heard.
We Tamilians share an umbilical ties with the Srilankan Tamils and our
Leader Dr. Kalaignar has stood his grounds for their rightsand welfare.
There is a need to amend the Citizenship Amendment Act 2019 to
confer citizenship to Sri Lankan Tamils who are staying in refugee and
rehabilitation camps in Tamil Nadu as refugees for more than 5 years. They
should be recognized as citizens of Tamil Nadu. There is an urgent need to
pass a resolution for constituting an international court of inquiry into the
missing of thousands of Tamil persons during the ethnic war in Sri Lanka.
It is so disappointing to note that the President’s Address does not
mention about the need to include all the languages listed in the Eighth
Schedule of the Constitution as official languages of the Union and also does
not mention about the need to amend the Constitution of India in order to
transfer the residuary powers, from the Central sphere to the State sphere.
Our Party Leader Thiru M.K. Stalin has submitted a detailed
memorandum voicing the concerns and anxieties in implementing the New
Education Draft Policy to the Central Minister for Education. D.M.K. Party has
always opposed (and will do so) the implementation of NEET as it poses a
grave threat to the cause of Social Justice and Empowerment.
There is an urgent need to discontinue NEET in the State of Tamil Nadu
in view of large scale injustice imposed on the rural poor students who do not
have the wherewithal to prepare for the costly NEET exams.
Very important issues like the need to find a solution to the Indian
fishermen row on the fishing rights in the Palk Bay Strait and Gulf of Manner
and the need to provide proper protection to the fishermen from the
harassment of Sri Lankan Navy is not mentioned in the President’s Address.
There is a need for providing proper medical facilities for fishermen and their
families.
The steep rise in the incidents of murder of elderly people, women and
children and incidents of rapes and providing proper security in the
metropolitan cities is really disturbing and needs to be addressed on a war
footing. But the Governments both in Centre and in Tamil Nadu are
lackadaisical in their approaches to address this very important issue of safety
and security of elderly people, women and children.
The appropriate steps and effective measures needed to arrest the
steep fall in the ground water level and to encourage rain water harvesting in
the country is not addressed in the President’s Address and we can only regret
that it does not mention either about linking rivers, especially Godavari and
Cauvery, Krishna to Pennar and Pennar to Cauvery. It is unfortunate that the
President’s Address does not show any interest in resolving the water disputes
among different states in the country.
It does not mention about the steps to be taken to upgrade the standard
of the sports in the country and to provide basic training to rural youths towards
excellence in sports and also to prepare Indian contingent for the forthcoming
2020 Olympics to be held in Japan. No specific thrust on indigenous tribal
sports is a big disappointment!
It is unfortunate that the increasing pendency of the cases in various
courts including High Courts and Supreme Court, and to suggest measures to
dispose of the cases expeditiously has not been addressed by the
Government.
It is dreary bleaky feeling that we get when we see that the slum clusters
of the metropolitan cities and towns are neglected – without adequate funding
allotted for their infrastructure. And there is hardly any ray of hope for it in the
Address.
Robert Frost says,
“Where power leads man towards arrogance, poetry reminds him
of his limitations. When power corrupts, poetry cleanses”. It can be
modified thus – “when power leads a Government towards arrogance, a
common man with a simple dream reminds it of its limitations. When power
corrupts, conscience cleanses”.
Thus, I would like to conclude that let the Government take the cue from
the disappointment of its people! In a nutshell, I would describe the
President’s Address as “Too much mutton dressed as lamb”.
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