Accusing the AIADMK government of destroying the State’s finances, the DMK on Tuesday boycotted the presentation of the interim Budget.
“Even as we were staging a walkout, I heard the announcement that the debt had crossed ₹5.7 lakh crore. This is a shame. The AIADMK does not have the right to rule the State,” said the DMK’s deputy leader in the House Duraimurugan.
Congress members also boycotted the session.
“Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami and Deputy Chief Minister O. Panneerselvam have created a financial disaster and crisis for the people of Tamil Nadu,” Mr. Duraimurugan alleged.
The DMK leader claimed that while the State government had failed to provide any financial assistance to poor and middle class people, who lost their livelihoods during the COVID-19 pandemic, it still called for tenders and shared the spoils with its ‘benamis’.
“Now, the government is spending ₹1,000 crore on advertisements in the media to project itself as the great saviour. Mr. Palaniswami has emptied the State’s coffers. He has turned the clock back by 50 years. He and Mr. Panneerselvam are black spots on Tamil Nadu,” he said.
Mr. Duraimurugan said the DMK will come to power in Tamil Nadu with the support of the people, probe all irregularities and repair the State’s finances.
‘Hollow announcements’
Criticising the AIADMK government over the interim Budget, Tamil Nadu Congress Committee president K.S. Alagiri said the announcements could only be considered hollow since there were no financial resources available for implementing them.
“Chief Minister Edappadi K. Palaniswami announced a waiver of crop loans to the tune of ₹12,110 crore for farmers. But the interim Budget has allocated only ₹5,000 crore. What right does the AIADMK government have to shift the burden on to the incoming government?” Mr. Alagiri said in a statement.
Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran described the interim Budget as a document prepared for the sake of keeping a record.
In a statement, he said it was disappointing that the State government had only made a suggestion to the Centre to merge all cesses and surcharges with the basic rate of tax, when there was widespread expectation that the State government would announce a reduction in the tax on petrol and diesel, along the lines of similar moves by other States.
