Police given free hand: Jayalalithaa
Expressing satisfaction over the law and order situation in state, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Jayalalithaa on Wednesday said despite persistent attempts, Maoists have “been denied foothold” here and asserted her government will not spare anyone who tries to whip up communal passions.
Tamil Nadu has “largely been free of communal, left wing extremist and religious fundamentalist violence,” and this was a matter of pride and satisfaction, she said in her inaugural address at the annual conference of District Collectors and police officers here.
Ms. Jayalalithaa said she had given police and district administration a “free hand and unstinting support,” in maintaining law and order.
“I would like to reiterate that Government will not spare anyone who tries to whip up communal passions and caste tensions. The police and the district administration have been given a clear and unambiguous mandate to put down anti-social elements with an iron hand,” she said.
The state had witnessed murders of some sangh parivar activists this year, including a senior BJP functionary, and some suspected Muslim fundamentalists had been arrested for their alleged involvement in them, including the ‘2011 Advani pipe bomb case.’
The Chief Minister said despite attempts Maoists have not succeeded in gaining a foothold since government was responsive to people’s needs, thus effectively preventing people to look up to such “anti-constitutional” forces for redress of grievances.
“Although persistent attempts have been made by Maoists to strike roots in the state, they have been denied a foothold by ceaseless vigilance, particularly in the tri-junction area between Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala, where intelligence inputs had indicated that naxalites were likely to try to establish their presence,” she said.
Firm action has also been taken to quell the activities of some organisations espousing left wing extremist ideology and making attempts to build up mass base, she said.
Referring to the Sri Lankan Tamils problem, Ms. Jayalalithaa said it was being compounded due to “insensitive handling” by Centre, but the fallout of the “serious issue” within the state had been effectively handled through deft and tactful measures.
On the Katchatheevu issue, she said she was hopeful of a “positive verdict” in Supreme Court on a case filed by her as Opposition leader seeking its retrieval from Sri Lanka.
The State revenue department had impleaded itself after AIADMK came to power in 2011.
With the state facing uncertain rainfall pattern under the north-east monsoon, Ms. Jayalalithaa asked her officials to gear up to face any “any kind of unforeseen weather related distress.”
On the industrialisation front, she said government had proposed setting up of nine industrial parks in an equal number of southern districts, besides efforts to promote MSMEs.
Special incentives were being extended to industries for establishing new units in the industrial parks with a focus on employment and economic uplift of these districts.
She had recently announced a package of measures for the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSME) sector since this was another high priority area to generate employment.
“The capital subsidy for plant and machinery of MSMEs has been increased to 25 per cent. The Small Industries Development Corporation will create a land bank of 2000 acres for the MSMEs. A single window system has been established for facilitating business startup procedures. We will also incentivise aggregation of scattered MSMEs into self-contained industrial complexes,” she said.
