The ruling DMK will hand out 10 lakh more free TV sets, and appear on them through the many channels it controls, ahead of Assembly polls in the state.
The state government on Sunday decided to procure the additional TV sets for the sixth phase of distribution of free televisions in the state. The decision to procure the additional TV sets was taken at a review meeting of a committee of legislators chaired by chief minister M. Karunanidhi.
The DMK had announced the flagship scheme in the run up to the 2006 Assembly elections. The decision to procure the additional sets followed requests from several district collectors, an official said. After coming to power in the state in 2006, the DMK procured over 1.62 crore CTVs and has distributed them to 1.52 crore families in five phases.
Deputy chief minister M.K. Stalin, IT minister Poongothai Aladi Aruna and Congress legislator D. Yashoda were among those who attended the meeting.
The scheme, launched by the chief minister on DMK founder C.N. Annadurai’s birth anniversary, initially targeted only poor households without colour TVs with the aim of making the party more appealing to women.
There were complaints that the scheme benefited only DMK members or those close to them. Later, to avoid allegations of political bias, the powers-that-be quietly included more people under the scheme claiming that it was “to increase the aspiration levels of the people”.
Along with other freebies, the DMK hopes this will be a political trump card of sorts to win votes across various groups.
During the fifth year of the scheme, the ruling party wants to cover the “entire eligible households in Tamil Nadu”. All one needs is a ration card to become eligible to get a free colour TV. The scheme has cost over `3,493 crores in five phases.