Chennai:
Welcoming a new health insurance scheme replacing the earlier one named after him, Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M Karunanidhi today said he did not differentiate between schemes offered by various governments and expected his arch rival and Chief Minister Jayalalithaa to be broad-minded on such matters.
"I welcome the scheme (launched by Jayalalithaa on Jan11) for the fact that it offers Rs four lakh for four years while it was Rs one lakh," (for same period in the earlier one), he said.
In a letter to partymen, Karunanidhi said he was happy for the fact that beneficiaries chosen for the erstwhile scheme will also be covered under the present scheme, but said Jayalalithaa had not shown similar attitude when his government had launched the "Kalaignar Insurance Scheme."
Referring to media reports, he said she had opposed the scheme saying it would only benefit certain insurance companies and some persons in the then ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
"While she had criticised it, I have welcomed (her initiative). At the same time I expect her to be broad-minded in treating all schemes as being exceuted as government ones and not implemented from the monies of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or mine. All these are government initiatives. It's not fair to differentiate them as Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam or All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) schemes," he said.
The ruling All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam had dumped or reversed a series of projects and schemes initiated by the previous Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam government, including the new Assembly-Secretariat Complex, the free Colour Television Scheme and the health insurance scheme.
He said the decision to construct a new assembly secretariat complex was taken only in view of congestion at Fort St George Complex, where Jayalalithaa's office and the rest of the state administration was based.
"Only the government employees are suffering with her being adamant (over not using the new complex)" he said.