The AIADMK government is focusing on inclusive development as industrialisation and infrastructure projects alone will not usher in overall development, chief minister J. Jayalalithaa said.
Launching welfare projects worth `190 crores in her native constituency Srirangam on Sunday, Jayalalithaa thanked the voters for upholding democracy against those who had tried to fix a price for their votes during the assembly elections. “You proved your value that your votes were invaluable. You defeated money power and shattered the dreams of those who thought they could still sail through on money power,” Ms Jayalalithaa said.
She charged the previous DMK regime with leaving administration in disarray and said it was now a big challenge to bring it back on track.
“We are bringing back everything on track, department by department which is a big challenge to do,” she said.
Her government placed high priority on welfare schemes that benefited people and nobody else but the people could benefit from the schemes, she said while alleging that DMK’s initiatives were basically flawed and only benefited them and not the people.
“The free rice scheme is something which assures food security has become a right of people,” she said. The free laptop scheme, which will be launched on September 15 the birth anniversary of DMK founder and former chief minister C.N. Annadurai will target 9 lakh students in schools and colleges, she said. This scheme was part of the human resources development initiatives, she added.
Explaining the reason for her not visiting the constituency soon after the elections were over, she said that she could not come earlier, though she wanted to, due to official engagements including her swearing-in ceremony, the Assembly session and her visit to Delhi.