AIADMK State Secretary A. Anbalagan has accused the Rangasamy government of announcing populist schemes without budgeting for the financial means to implement them.
Addressing a press conference, Mr. Anbalagan contended that several welfare measures announced in the last Budget session aimed at the weaker sections and the student community remained only on paper.
He cited as examples some of the announcements made by Chief Minister N. Rangasamy such as the proposal to raise monthly assistance for an estimated 70,000 Below Poverty Line families from ₹1,000 to ₹1,500 that entailed an annual additional outgo of about ₹126 crore and another scheme to provide ₹1,000 monthly assistance to over a lakh women who remain outside the umbrella of any government support that was expected to cost the exchequer an estimated ₹120 crore additionally each year.
Likewise, the government had proposed to raise the old age pension by ₹500 for 1.81 lakh beneficiaries at an additional financial burden of ₹108.6 crore per year while proposed increases in educational aid for children of fishermen and the differently-abled, marriages and funerals were projected to cost at least ₹400 crore annually, the AIADMK leader said.
He wondered whether these empty promises were made only on paper over governance failures to tap revenue or plugging revenue leakages and with the sole intention of hoodwinking voters ahead of the 2026 Assembly elections.
Mr. Anbalagan also flayed the decision to raise liquor prices to increase revenue as it would further burden consumers. Instead, the government should have opted for reforms in the excise sector that had potential to net about ₹750 crore in additional revenue, he said.
Published – June 09, 2025 08:13 pm IST