Former Tamil Nadu finance minister and DMK leader Thangam Thennarasu questioned chief minister C Joseph Vijay's TVK government over its claim of lowering debt as he accused it of deliberately stalling development works. He alleged that contractor payments are being withheld to falsely project a reduced debt burden as a financial achievement.
He made the remarks in response to reports that Tamil Nadu's borrowing through government bonds fell by 21% in the first half of the current fiscal year compared to the corresponding period last year. Thennarasu questioned the government, which came in power in April this year, over its silence on underlying economic realities.
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He said the TVK government is trying to present lower borrowing as a ‘massive achievement’.
"But shouldn't they disclose how this debt requirement decreased? They must release full details of the capital expenditure and developmental works undertaken in this first half," Thennarasu said in a post on X.
As he made contrast between with the previous DMK government's performance, Thennarasu highlighted allocation figures from the 2025–26 budget.
"Under the DMK governance, ₹57,231 crore was allocated for capital expenditures. According to provisional monthly accounts of the CAG, ₹13,002.22 crore was spent effectively between April and September 2025 on key infrastructure projects, including the Metro Rail," he noted.
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He raised several questions and demanded to know what the exact capital expenditure incurred by the TVK government was from April to September.
"Can a government claim financial management accolades by delaying development works, withholding payments for completed projects, and artificially inflating cash reserves to borrow less," Thennarasu asked, adding, "Keeping pending dues unpaid cannot be classified as savings."
Also, he pointed out a massive contradiction in the government's fiscal roadmap, revealing that while the TVK administration boasts of reduced borrowing in the first half, it has planned a massive borrowing spree of ₹48,000 crore for the October–December quarter alone. This figure is more than double the ₹23,500 crore raised in the preceding quarter.
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While claiming that borrowings declined in the first half of the financial year, the TVK government has planned to borrow ₹48,000 crore in the October–December quarter alone. Is this not more than double the ₹23,500 crore borrowed in the previous quarter?
He alleged that the decline in borrowings is because the TVK government is ‘struggling to undertake capital expenditure’ amid revenue collections that remain below the estimates projected in its budget. “Tenders worth tens of thousands of crores of rupees have been cancelled. Roads are in poor condition due to the lack of development works, construction projects remain incomplete, and thousands of people have lost their jobs,” he said.