The festive season is a time for high-spirited pragmatism in the south, though somebody forgot to impress this upon S Ramdoss, leader of the Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK), an alliance partner of Tamil Nadu?s ruling DMK. Last heard, he was still clamouring for a ban on liquor in the state. But as the official estimates stumble in, it turns out that Tamil Nadu consumed booze worth Rs 60 crore on Diwali day alone, a whopping 150% more than the average daily sales figure. For revenue sniffers, especially those given to spying Vat opportunities under every keg, this is a matter of elation. This might also explain why Chief Minister M Karunanidhi has ignored Ramdoss?s advice. Of course, it?s not about revenues, but democracy. The CM?s government is of the people, by the people and for the people. It has that ?connect?. Rahul Gandhi might even get a letter on this soon.
Only connect
Politicians making promises as a prelude to self-induced amnesia is a common practice. But, as a senior minister in Kerala found, some of these can return to haunt them. The minister in question got carried away at a rally and promised something for which there were no funds in the state budget or anywhere else. His constituents, however, wouldn?t let him claim amnesia, so the poor minister was running helter-skelter to arrange the money to get the project off the ground. Eavesdropper has reliably learnt that he has finally dipped into the fund allotted to the state by the Centre for general purposes.
