AIADMK general secretary and Leader of the Opposition Edappadi K. Palaniswami addressing the media after attending the Interim Budget session at the Secretariat in Chennai on Tuesday.
| Photo Credit: B. JOTHI RAMALINGAM
AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Tuesday reiterated his charge that the DMK regime had “let down” employees of the State government.
Giving his reaction to the Interim Budget presented in the Assembly earlier in the day, Mr. Palaniswami, in an interaction with reporters, contended that not even one-fourth of the DMK’s electoral promises, made in the run-up to the 2021 Assembly polls, had been fulfilled. Be it with respect to the old pension scheme for the government employees or issues concerning noon meal staff, government nurses and farmers, the government had not done anything to translate into action its assurances. “Like in the last five years, this Budget too is a deceptive address and full of jugglery of words,” Mr. Palaniswami alleged.
He also argued that the burden of loan and taxes had risen. Though Finance and Agriculture Ministers had delivered Budget speeches for a total of five hours, there was “nothing concrete” in them, he added.
In a post on his social media handle, Amma Makkal Munnetra Kazhagam (AMMK) general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran criticised the DMK regime for “not taking up productive schemes” and “only increasing the loan.” In a statement, former interim general secretary of the AIADMK V.K. Sasikala wanted to know from the government how many buses had been procured for the public transport system as in the last five years, there had been announcements that 12,087 would be purchased at a cost of ₹6,121 crore.
Published – February 17, 2026 10:56 pm IST
