AIADMK’s senior leader and former Education and Health Minister S. Semmalai on Saturday called upon political parties to avoid rolling out a slew of freebies.
Asked whether the spree of freebies, being announced by major political parties as part of their electoral assurances, would facilitate the development of Tamil Nadu, the 80-year-old former Minister replied emphatically: “Definitely not! This should be avoided. Leaders of political parties should realise this.” He added that his prescription was applicable to the Union government too.
Pointing out that the outstanding debt of the State government would exceed the ₹10-lakh-crore mark by 2026-27 from about ₹5.19 lakh crore five years ago, Mr. Semmalai, who represented Salem in the Lok Sabha during 2009-14, contended that this would be double the figure the State had accrued in the last 50 years. “Loans have been taken even to meet the commitment of interest payment.”
Criticising the DMK government for not increasing the capital expenditure substantially in the last five years, the former Minister said the present regime had “frittered away” funds for the purpose of distributing freebies, done keeping with “vote bank politics” in mind. At least in future, there should be higher allocations for capital expenditure to enable the implementation of more infrastructure development projects, eventually triggering the generation of greater revenue.
Clarifying that he was not for the abolition of freebies, he, however, stipulated that freebies be targeted towards the needy, vulnerable sections of society so that the living standards were raised. “Instead of being given as freebies, you can give grants,” he suggested.
Asked about the AIADMK’s freebies, Mr. Semmalai answered that “there is no other way out. Like any other party, we also have to dress up. But, when we come to power, we will correct the trend and provide more funds for capital expenditure.”
On the question of the party suffering frequent electoral setbacks in the last 10 years, the former parliamentarian, who has not sought a party ticket to contest in the coming election, said: “Electoral success or defeat is not important for any political party. What is more important is the party infrastructure and network, which remains intact in our case.”
Head-to-head results
The AIADMK, which had seen its golden jubilee, had defeated the DMK (formed in 1949), at the hustings on seven occasions. After M.G. Ramachandran (MGR) established his party in 1972, former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi could not taste power for 13 years at a stretch, he said.
On three occasions in the past, the DMK did not even secure the position of Leader of the Opposition (LOP) in the Assembly. All these did not render it irrelevant. However, even with the absence of two “towering personalities” (M.G. Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa), the AIADMK [in 2021] had managed to retain the LOP position, apart from its front being able to win 75 seats.
“This was no ordinary performance, as the party had experienced confusion, which arose after the death of Jayalalithaa. On the contrary, in 1991, the DMK bagged only two seats,” Mr. Semmalai recalled.
Asked whether the apparent support among the youth for the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor-politician Vijay, was a reflection of the failure of the two Dravidian majors to attract the new and younger generation, Mr. Semmalai called the TVK an “untested force” and said not all fans of Mr. Vijay would become workers of the new party. “So, you cannot guess the strength of the party, taking into account the fans.”
To another question whether the TVK founder was following the example of MGR, who was also a matinee idol, the former Minister replied that after establishing the party in 1972, MGR had demonstrated the party’s strength by winning in in the 1973 Dindigul Lok Sabha and 1974 Coimbatore (West) Assembly byelections. In addition to emerging as the single largest party in Puducherry in 1974, the AIADMK had formed the government, Mr. Semmalai recalled.
Published – March 22, 2026 12:39 am IST
