Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay announced on Wednesday that his government will provide every legislator in the state an official vehicle and a monthly ₹ 1-lakh allowance for fuel, maintenance and driver expenses, saying that the number of first-time MLAs who don’t have their own vehicles has significantly increased. As many as 110 MLAs are first-timers.
Assembly Speaker JCD Prabhakar said the scheme has been announced for all MLAs. Now, how will they fulfill this promise? Annadurai asked. “The value of human life should never be determined by their income.
In a suo motu response to Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi ( VCK ) MLA LE Jothimani’s request on August 12 for a vehicle—as he found it difficult to travel to the Secretariat every day—the CM said several MLAs don’t own a personal vehicle, making it difficult for them to inspect and review constituency work. In a parallel decision, the TVK government expanded its flagship Chief Minister’s Comprehensive Health Insurance Scheme from the current ₹ 5 lakh to ₹ 25 lakh per year.
He said the decision was made to help the MLAs take up constituency development work. “I am pleased to announce that vehicles will be provided by the government to all members of the legislative assembly,” the CM said. “The government running an honest administration without bribery must fulfil the basic needs of its members,” he added. Meanwhile, DMK spokesperson Saravanan Annadurai said, “The TVK government wants to splurge public money on luxury, which is not a priority.””The CM said that the state coffers were wiped out when he took charge as the CM. Former DMK MLA and medical wing secretary Ezhilan said the government should provide vehicles only to those who do not own one. “Those MLAs who declared in the election affidavit that they own a vehicle should not be given a vehicle,” he said. Our government is firm in its stance that the divide between the privileged and the underprivileged should not exist in the health care sector,” CM Vijay said. “Healthcare is not a privilege; it is the fundamental right of every human being,” he said.
