AIADMK head and chief minister-in-waiting J. Jayalalithaa on Friday said Tamil Nadu's finances were in ruins due to the five years of DMK rule and her priority would be to restore fiscal stability of the state and bring back rule of law.
She said her government would implement the promises made in the party's election manifesto within one and half years time. Expressing her gratitude to the people of Tamil Nadu for a decisive mandate, Jayalalithaa said: "It is a victory for the people and democracy. Money power got defeated in this election."
According to her, over the past three years she had seen people being disgusted with the DMK government and were waiting for a chance. "Last three years I could gauge a change in people's mood. Once they got the opportunity they showed their anger," Jayalalithaa said. Questioned about her government's priority, she said: "On Friday our priority is to form the government. Tamil Nadu has been totally ruined over the past five years. It is not easy to rebuild an entire state."
Charging the DMK government of destroying the state's fiscal stability whenever it comes to power, the AIADMK general secretary said: "It is easy to renovate a damaged house. But if the house is totally destroyed then the debris has to be removed first." "Between 1989-91 the DMK ruined the state's finances. I rebuilt the state," she said. She said in 1996 there was a change in government "and in 2001 for a second time I found the state's economy was bad". "At that time the Asian Development Bank, Indian Planning Commission and others had written off the Tamil Nadu government.
But our government restored Tamil Nadu's fiscal health. We made it a leader in many spheres," she said. She said the DMK government again played havoc with the economy between 2006-2011. According to her it is going to be a difficult challenge to restore fiscal stability. Jayalalithaa also thanked the Election Commission of India for conducting the elections in a free and fair manner. Thanking her allies, she hoped the alliance with the two Left parties would continue even at the national level.