Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [india], August 6 (ANI): DMK legislators on Thursday wore black shirts ahead of the presentation of the Tamil Nadu Agriculture Budget in the State Assembly.
On Wednesday, former Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president MK Stalin called the maiden budget of the TVK-led “reel government” a “waste”, saying that it was devoid of original thinking and was entirely “lacklustre”.
He said the budget that some people were expecting to be a “blast” turned out to be a “total waste”.
“Not only that, this is a ‘remake version’ budget of the Dravidian Model government’s schemes,” Stalin posted on X, adding, “The ‘Reel Government’s’ first budget has turned out to be a damp squib–devoid of original thinking, failing to deliver on promises, and completely lacklustre.”
The DMK president argued that the budget presented in the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly today by the state government fails to address issues related to farmers and the increasing cost of living.
Former Finance Minister of Tamil Nadu and DMK MLA Thangam Thennarasu criticised the Tamil Nadu Budget, saying that it “failed to meet public expectations”.
Speaking to reporters, Thennarasu said, “It has failed in every respect and didn’t meet the expectations of the public, the stakeholders… With respect to the technical part of it, the Finance Minister released the white paper on the fiscal position of the state. In fact, when we were perceiving the figures given in these budget papers, we found that they contradict their own submissions… It has been made very evident that this government is again on the borrowing spree. In fact, the net borrowing is now, today, it stands at Rs 22,000 crores, which means the present government is expected to borrow more than what we had actually estimated. If this trend continues, they will certainly find themselves in the debt trap of Rs 20 lakh crores when they complete their tenure after five years…”
On Wednesday, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Marie Wilson presented the state budget for the financial year 2026-27, outlining a visionary roadmap to transform the state into a 1.5 trillion-dollar economy by the year 2031.
A massive portion of the budget has been dedicated to revitalising the state’s educational landscape. The government has earmarked Rs 300 crore for modernisation of 3,734 state-run schools. Furthermore, a new initiative, ‘Super Clean, Super Campus ‘, focused on campus hygiene and security, will be launched in 10,000 schools during its opening phase, supported by an outlay of Rs 139 crore. This program aims to provide round-the-clock protection and consistent maintenance of facilities like restrooms and drinking water systems.
The Minister said that a sum of Rs 300 crore has been allocated this year for modernisation of 3,734 government schools in Tamil Nadu.
The Finance Minister also announced a major welfare initiative for college students with the introduction of the ‘Vetri Laptop Scheme.’ Under this program, the state government will provide laptops to college students to enhance their digital learning capabilities and academic resources. (ANI)
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