Tamil Nadu budget disappointing, DMK govt is depending on borrowings: AIADMK

The borrowings ought to decrease with a rise in revenue, but the DMK government borrowed Rs 2.28 lakh crore since it came to power.

By: PTI

Chennai | March 19, 2022 07:34 AM IST

2 min read

All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) co-coordinator and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami addresses the media after walking out of the Assembly, during the Tamil Nadu state budget session for the financial year 2022-23, at Fort St George, in Chennai, Friday, March 18, 2022. (PTI Photo/R Senthil Kumar)

The Tamil Nadu Budget for 2022-23 presented on Thursday has disappointed the people as there was no announcement on the much-expected waiver of educational loan and the government has deferred its assurance of providing Rs 1,000 aid to woman head of a family, former Chief Minister and co-coordinator of AIADMK K Palaniswami said and stated that the DMK regime appears to depend entirely on borrowings to run the government.

Though life returned to normalcy with industrial activity revving up and revenue through registration and transport departments increasing post-pandemic, the government continues to borrow, Palaniswami said. “During the AIADMK regime, the pandemic caused havoc and there was a lull in industrial activity. The revenue declined as a result, but now things have become normal. The revenue is increasing and strangely even the borrowings,” he told reporters outside the Assembly after staging a walkout from the Assembly, along with the AIADMK members.

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The borrowings ought to decrease with a rise in revenue, but the DMK government borrowed Rs 2.28 lakh crore since it came to power. “This shows its way of functioning,” Palaniswami said and stated that the previous AIADMK government borrowed Rs 4.85 lakh crore in 10 years along with Rs 1 lakh crore debt left by the DMK when it demitted office in 2011. But the DMK government borrowed Rs 1.08 lakh crore in 2021 – 22 and totally Rs 2.28 lakh crore in two years, he said.

“The government plans to borrow Rs 1.20 lakh crore during 2023-24 fiscal,” Palaniswami said. When the AIADMK was in power, the government borrowed for capital expenditure.

Palaniswami, who is the Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, said that despite the Centre and nearly 25 State governments reducing the price of petrol and diesel, the Tamil Nadu government has not effected a cut in the fuel price.

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