Former Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu today (Aug. 5) accused the Tamil Nadu government’s budget of being disappointing.
He said that the funds allocated to the School Education Department had been reduced and that the revenue deficit would be Rs. 7,000 crore.
This is the first budget presented after the TVK government, led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, took office. Finance Minister Mari Wilson presented the budget for 2026–27 in the Legislative Assembly today (Aug. 5).
Regarding the budget, Thangam Thennarasu told reporters at Anna Arivalayam in Chennai:
''Tamil Nadu has borrowed in an unprecedented manner. Finance Minister Mary Wilson said that more debt has been taken under the DMK government than under the previous government.
TVK says that the DMK is the reason for the debt burden. But the borrowing limit is bound to keep rising. States borrow within the rules set by the central government.
Borrowing cannot be reduced. The Finance Department Secretary himself said today that we are borrowing only with the approval of the Central government, said.
The Tamil Nadu government has borrowed Rs. 1,22,000 crore this year. They have shown a reduction of Rs. 3,000 crore in capital expenditure. If this situation continues, the TTVK will be forced to borrow Rs. 10 lakh crore over the next 5 years.
The budget has disappointed people’s expectations. In the white paper, the DMK government was criticized, and now the TVK government has done the same thing. There are no measures in the budget to increase revenue. The budget released by the Tamil Nadu government is disappointing.
The allocation for the School Education Department has been reduced. Allocating just Rs. 1 crore for the Archaeology Department is not enough. Election promises are not included in the budget,'' Thangam Thennarasu said.
