Tamil Nadu did not find a place in the Swachh Bharat list. However, former minister and AIADMK Amma Peravai state secretary R.P. Udhayakumar has alleged that Tamil Nadu has taken the top spot in rising prices and inflation, and that inflation in Tamil Nadu has increased beyond the limit set by the Reserve Bank.
Since 2016, on behalf of the Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, cities have been identified every year under the Swachh Bharat Mission in the list of clean cities, and awards and incentives have been given. This is something everyone knows.
Will the TVK government take steps to bring about change?
What is disappointing to every Tamil is that not a single city from Tamil Nadu has made it into the top three primary positions in this list. Will the TVK government take steps to bring about change?
Mumbai Navi in first place
In the national list of clean cities for 2025-2026, Navi Mumbai has secured the first place, Surat in Gujarat the second place, and Vijayawada in Andhra Pradesh the third place.
Similarly, among cities with a population of more than 10 lakh, Visakhapatnam in Andhra Pradesh, Jabalpur in Madhya Pradesh, and Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh have taken the next positions.
Similarly, among cities with a population of 3 lakh to 10 lakh, Ujjain in Madhya Pradesh has secured the top spot as the cleanest city. Chandigarh and Guntur have taken the next positions.
In addition, in the list of clean cities located along riverbanks, Rewa in Madhya Pradesh has secured the top spot. Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh and Varanasi in Uttar Pradesh have taken the next positions. Tamil Nadu does not figure in this list.
This list is released and awards and incentives are given to the selected cities so that the public, each and every one, will keep the cities they live in clean.
The news we need to be concerned about here is that Tamil Nadu, which did not find a place in the cleanliness city list under the TVK government, has ranked first in the country in price inflation.
Rise in inflation rate
Tamil Nadu’s inflation rate, which stood at 6.81% in September, increased to 7.29% in October. This is higher than the Reserve Bank’s upper limit.
Food inflation was 7.74% in September. Now, in October, it has risen to 8.94%. The food items that have seen the steepest price increases are so many that listing them all would take more than a day. Among them, onions alone have risen by 116.22% in price. Garlic has increased by 60.74%, ginger by 48.32%, and lemons by 47.3%.
Rural inflation rises
Rural inflation has risen from 6.08% to 6.63%. It should be 9% in rural areas. Urban inflation was 4.8%, and now it has increased to 5.41%. Generally, it should be 8.68%. The Reserve Bank’s upper limit is 6%. Economists say this is the first time the economy has crossed that threshold, and the financial situation of the TVK government is one that all economists would be concerned about.
In October, inflation was only 6.25%. At present, Tamil Nadu has reached 7.29% and is in first place. Telangana is in second place with 7.26%, and Andhra is in third place with 7.25%.
Tamil Nadu, which cannot secure a place in cleanliness, is in first place in rising prices. This is the gift that people who expected change have received.
MLAs crossing the line
There is no need to even ask about law and order in Tamil Nadu. Even though the Chief Minister holds review meetings every day, no solution has been found. Beyond the deterioration of law and order, drug smuggling, sexual crimes against women, and the involvement of TVK functionaries in them, TVK legislators themselves are crossing their limits.
Why grant absolution?
The Chief Minister Vijay is meeting them after calling them in. But no action is being taken against them. The Chief Minister is in a position where he has to pardon them. The reason is that he does not have a majority. He thinks that if action is taken against the MLAs, they will turn against him. That is how it can be seen.
Tamil Nadu itself is opposing it
We do not know what the Chief Minister told the MLAs when he called them. The entire state of Tamil Nadu is opposing the disgraceful act of the Kallakurichi MLA in a way that makes people cringe. But the Chief Minister of a state is turning a blind eye. It is the people who must deliver the verdict on this. No one else can. The Chief Minister is quietly moving past this.
A humiliation for Tamil Nadu
This country has gone to the point where a TVK MLA is writing a love letter to the District Collector. This is a humiliation for Tamil Nadu.
Only Vijay gets the spotlight
Chief Minister, I don’t know how you take this. As far as law and order is concerned, maybe in films it may be your forte. By acting like that, you have gained people’s trust today. But in reality, you have to work very hard for it. You have to pay a lot of attention and care for it. I don’t know whether you are doing that or not. But law and order has deteriorated. This was not said only by Edappadiyar. Everyone is saying it; the whole country is saying it. The Chief Minister said that Vijay is in the spotlight.
