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Youngsters in the country are looking for jobs and not for freebies and subsidies and creating employment should be the priority to the next government, said Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram.
He was campaigning across 10 villages in Sivaganga today, his erstwhile constituency, for his son Karti Chidambaram who is contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha election from the constituency. Across the villages, he raised the need of job creation and detailed the works he has done for the constituency.
Addressing a function at Vellayaudhapatinam in Sivaganga district, he said "I have a clear direction for industrialisation, which I put it on the ten point agenda. I really wish whoever the next Finance Minister continuous the same and give first priority to create employment," said Chidambaram. He laid foundation stone for a Rs 36 crore paper mill project here.
He refused to comment on the Congress Manifesto released today, stating that he has not seen it to comment on.
Speaking about industrial development in his constituency, Chidambaram said that for any grwoth of industrialisation infrastructure, including Port, airport, railways and national highways, is the key. He has been criticised by his rivals and the local people, for the alleged lack of proper industrialisation in the constituency.
Chidambaram claimed that in the last 20 years, during his tenure, there has been a rapid growth, except for the Port. Two international airports, in Tiruchy and Madurai, broad gauge connectivity to Chennai and other major cities are the ways for the industry to come into the constituency, he said.
"As far as port is concerned, we have repeatedly approached the State Government to covert the fishing harbour to mini commercial port. But there was no response from the State Government," said Chidambaram. He also said that he kept on asking the State Government, be it AIADMK or DMK, to shift the graphite industry to Neyveli Lignite Corporation (NLC), which comes under the Centre so that we develop industries based on that.
"Even today we are saying that we will take up the project and will develop the industry through a NLC's sister company in the next three years".
One of the industries which he claims as he brought to this district, which is one of the most dry part in the state, is BHEL, which is investing around Rs 1,000 crore to set up a facility at Thirumayam. Three paper mills were set up and three textile units were inaugurated in the last 3-4 months.
Essar and Reliance have set up BPOs, Apollo Hospitals and Vasan Healthcare from health sector have invested in the district and all of them came during the last five years.
As far as Agriculture is concerned, he said, 20 years back sugarcane cultivation was not here at all now it is cultivated in hundred of acres because two sugar cane mills were brought.
One of the bottle necks the State is facing is lack of power. "If electricity given without any disturbance then more industries will come," said Chidambaram, who alleges that the state government did not fulfill its promise, which it gave during the assembly election.
The state government said it will make the state as power surplus. But nothing has happened so far, still the state is facing power crisis, he alleged.
"State government allotted only Rs 1500 crore for TNEB to invest in 2013-14 and going my the numbers I have for 2014-15 only Rs 1,000 crore is allocated," he said.
'BJP rule will mark end of NREGA'
Union Finance Minister and Congress Senior leader P Chidambaram today said that if BJP comes to power, the 100 days employment scheme introduced by Congress led UPA will not continue.
"For six years BJP led NDA was in power. Why they did not introduce the scheme? Why NDA did not write off agriculture loan (UPA has written off agriculture loan worth Rs 65,000 crore)? Why they did not lend education loan to the extent which UPA government did to the tune of around RS 55,000 crore to over 27 lakh students, he questioned.
This is the election between Congress and BJP, said Chidambaram, who described what DMK and AIADMK are doing is "cock fight" in Tamil Nadu and both these parties cannot form the Government in the Centre.
"I am not underestimating DMK or AIADMK, but they cannot form a Government in the Centre. Lok Sabha election is not their election, they got another two years (he was referring to upcoming elections). There boundary is Tamilnadu," he said.
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