Tamil Nadu Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin has announced that all 59 DMK legislators will reject the Tamil Nadu government's proposed offer of new vehicles and a Rs 1 lakh allowance, questioning the need for such expenditure amid the state's financial constraints.
Udhayanidhi argued that public funds should not be spent on providing new cars to all MLAs and urged the government to reconsider the proposal. He also suggested that authorities first examine legislators' election affidavits, including details of their existing vehicles and financial status, before deciding on such benefits.
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Udhayanidhi Stalin said, as quoted by IANS, "The government has announced that new vehicles will be purchased for all 234 MLAs. I would like to place our party's position on record in this Assembly. At a time when the Tamil Nadu government is already facing a debt burden, as the Chief Minister himself has repeatedly stated, we have decided, under the guidance of our party president M.K. Stalin, that vehicles should be provided only to MLAs who are financially disadvantaged."
The issue has added to the growing political confrontation between the DMK and Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay's Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). Udhayanidhi also used the Assembly debate to challenge Vijay over alleged “corruption files” relating to the previous DMK government, as per The Indian Express.
Questioning why the alleged documents had not yet been made public, Udhayanidhi urged the Chief Minister to release them instead of repeatedly referring to the allegations. His remarks triggered a heated exchange between DMK and TVK legislators, with arguments and sloganeering reportedly disrupting Assembly proceedings.
The government, however, indicated that the alleged corruption files would be released at an appropriate time. Vijay did not directly respond to Udhayanidhi's challenge during the exchange.
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"I request the government to consider this and provide vehicles only to those MLAs who genuinely need them, especially while the government is trying to reduce unnecessary expenditure," Udhayanidhi added.
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