Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi on Saturday came down heavily on Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J.Jayalalithaa for corruption while assuring the people of providing a clean government if his party-DMK alliance won the May 16 poll.Addressing an election rally in this temple town, around 480 km from Chennai, he said: "Corruption has gone up to new heights in Tamil Nadu. New industries are not coming to the state fearing corruption."He also said Tamil Nadu has become backward in areas like steel, petrochemical and other industries.The Congress vice chief said the state does not need a chief minister who stays behind the four walls of her house and does not come out to see the flood-affected parts of the city."I could come from Delhi but the chief minister could not walk out of her house," Gandhi said.Noting leaders like K.Kamaraj, M.G.Ramachandran and K.Karunanidhi listened to people, mingled with them and understood them and were humble, he said that on the other hand, Jayalalithaa is convinced that she need not meet anybody and is of the view that there in nothing that anybody could tell her in the state.
Gandhi said the state does not need a government that crushes dissent.Coming down heavily on the AIADMK government, he said by giving freebies like fans, mixies worth Rs.5,000, the government has taken away Rs.60,000 from each family through liquor sales.Asserting that a Congress-DMK government will bring in prohibition in the state, he cited the story of a class nine girl Sathya of Theni district who lost her father due to alcoholism."Her mother also passed away soon after. Now this ninth standard student is an orphan," Gandhi said."Ironically the girl's name is Sathya which means truth. And this is the truth about Tamil Nadu," he remarked.He said the state has the highest percentage of landless agricultural labourers and 90 percent of the Dalits in Tamil Nadu are landless.