Modi to launch Jayalalithaa's pet scheme amid OPS, EPS cold war

Prime Minister Narendra Modi will launch the Tamil Nadu government's ambitious scheme of providing 50 per cent subsidy to working women to buy two-wheelers in Chennai on Saturday. The scheme was one of the pet projects of late chief minister J. Jayalalithaa, in AIADMK's 2016 election manifesto. Saturday is Jayalalithaa's 70th birth anniversary.

The state government had, in January, modified the scheme and hiked the subsidy limit to Rs 25,000 as against Rs 20,000 announced earlier. ''One lakh working women will be covered under the scheme every year and it will be implemented at a cost of Rs 200 crore," Chief Minister Edappady K. Palaniswamy had said.

Modi's visit assumes political significance as it comes in the backdrop of Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam's remarks that he joined hands with Palaniswamy at the behest of the prime minister. The two warring factions of the AIADMK had buried the hatchet after then party chief V.K. Sasikala was expelled from the party.

Political observers believe that Panneerselvam's latest revelations are the outcome of his cold war with Palaniswamy over restructuring of the party and appointments to the key posts. Our Chennai correspondent reports that Panneerselvam's statement is also being looked at the backdrop of a case relating to the disqualification of 18 MLAs, which is pending in the Madras High Court. Verdict in this case is likely to be out anytime soon. It is believed that the chief minister's faction has been negotiating with the Sasikala camp to save the government if anything adverse happens in the MLAs' disqualification case.

It is not clear whether the prime minister will hold talks with Palaniswamy or Panneerselvam during his Chennai visit. However, it is pointed out that a prime minister launching a state government's welfare scheme is something rare.

From Chennai, Modi will travel to Puducherry on Sunday, where he will visit Shri Aurobindo Ashram and interact with students of Sri Aurobindo International Centre of Education. He will also visit Auroville and release a commemorative a postage stamp on the golden jubilee celebrations of Auroville.