AMMA’S MOTHER OF ALL PROMISES — free cellphones, free electricity, free set top boxes, free laptops, free this and free that

“Only a caring mother knows what her children need. I have done what all I promised and many things more – Amma canteen, Amma drinking water, Amma medicines, Amma salt, Amma cement, Amma vegetables – all of which I had not promised. In future I will do things that you cannot even imagine for your benefit,” – Jayalalithaa

Freebies galore, loan waivers for farmers and something for everybody is the theme of AIADMK manifesto that was eagerly awaited amid rising expectation of what Amma would give this time around.

And chief minister and AIADMK general secretary J Jayalalithaa did not disappoint with her string of new freebies —f ree cellphones, free 100 units of power, free 8 grams gold to girls from BPL getting married, free laptops to class X and XII students, free set top boxes and the like.

Promising to continue all the Amma welfare schemes, Jayalalithaa declared that she had not only fulfilled all the promises she made last time. In fact, I have done much more than what I promised because I am always thinking about you and your welfare, she said releasing the party manifesto for 2016 general elections at a public meeting at Perudurai in Erode on Thursday.

The most striking Jaya offer to the girls : 50 per cent subsidy to working girls wanting to purchase a moped, the government will pick up half the bill. And then there is loan waiver for the farmers, easy availability of credit to the farming sector and a plethora of steps for the small scale and tiny industry sectors that have seen a bad time over the last five years.

But on the domestic power supply front, her promise of free power to poor, will benefit some 78 lakh consumers. This promise aims to blunt the DMK promise to make the electricity bills monthly as opposed to the bi-monthly as at present.

There is Amma banking card for the poor and government subsidy for entrepreneurs. For this purpose she announced the starting of Amma Collateral Gurantee Fund with seed capital of Rs 100 crore for small and marginal institutions. Twenty cent of land on SME industrial parks will be reserved for SC/ST entrepreneurs.

Announcing her plans to tackle the gigantic corrutipon and loot in the sand mining sector, she said the government will take over beach mineral business. A new granite policy is also being worked out to check the rampant violation of rules and regulations in quarrying. On the corruption front, the AIADMK government would constitute a Lok Ayukta.

Jayalalithaa promised introduction of prohibition in phases. Incidentally, Jayalalithaa announced this a month ago, catching all the parties by surprise.

Expectations were running high as Jayalalithaa held back the manifesto, preferring to wait for what the rest were offering.

The opposition parties spread all kind of rumours to raise peoples already high expectations to skyhigh levels so that anything that Jayalalithaa promised would look pale and disappointing.

Jayalalithaa read out the salient features of the election manifesto at the public meeting here that confirmed the continuation of all the Amma schemes prevalent at the moment and new ones in the offing.

Jayalalithaa also took the opportunity to blast the DMK Congress combine on the corruption front at asked the people if they wanted the family rule back.