In a significant address to the Assembly on Friday, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu accused the Central government of consistently exhibiting a political bias against the state. His allegations centered on the withholding of essential funds for education and social welfare initiatives, as well as the deliberate delay in sanctioning crucial infrastructure projects.
During his response to discussions on the first supplementary demands for grants, Minister Thennarasu highlighted a glaring discrepancy in education funding. He revealed that the Centre had withheld nearly ₹4,000 crore specifically earmarked for school education. Furthermore, only a meager ₹450 crore was released for the implementation of the Right to Education Act. Consequently, the Tamil Nadu government has been forced to cover teacher salaries, student programs, and school infrastructure expenses using its own state resources.
The Minister also voiced strong objections to the National Education Policy, stating, “The Centre is attempting to impose Hindi on Tamil Nadu, a state that proudly leads the country in higher education and excels across numerous indicators. Can this be seen as anything other than a step-motherly attitude, an action that directly undermines the aspirations of our young children?”
Addressing infrastructure, Mr. Thennarasu pointed out that while the Union Cabinet continues to approve multi-crore expressway and highway projects for states like Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, and Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu has received no such large-scale project sanctions. This disparity, he argued, showcases a clear bias.
He further extended his accusations of unfairness to the railway sector, specifically regarding allocations to Southern Railway. “Over the past three years, the Centre allocated ₹19,068 crore to Tamil Nadu for railway projects. In stark contrast, Uttar Pradesh alone received ₹19,858 crore in the current financial year. Adding to this, Tamil Nadu’s proposals for new Metro Rail projects in Coimbatore and Madurai have been languishing with the Centre for nearly 20 months, even as similar projects have moved forward swiftly in cities such as Agra, Kanpur, Noida, Pune, and Surat,” the Finance Minister elaborated.
In conclusion, the Finance Minister alleged that the Centre had also held back ₹975 crore from the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme, directly impacting the livelihoods of 75 lakh women in Tamil Nadu. Additionally, ₹3,709 crore designated for the Jal Jeevan Mission, aimed at providing piped water supply across the state, remains pending. “Tamil Nadu, with 6.1% of the country’s population, receives only 4% from the Central tax pool. Is this truly consistent with the fundamental principles of cooperative federalism?” he questioned, emphasizing the need for equitable treatment.