Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay chairs a Cabinet meeting at the Secretariat in Chennai on July 16, 2026 to discuss on the presentation of State Budget
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Details of the upcoming State Budget were discussed during the Tamil Nadu Cabinet meeting chaired by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay at the Secretariat in Chennai on Thursday (July 16, 2026), according to Law Minister R. Nirmalkumar.
Speaking to reporters after the Cabinet meeting, Mr. Nirmalkumar said this was a routine meeting ahead of the Budget presentation. “In today’s Cabinet meeting, deliberations were made on what should be included in the Budget and how it should be presented. These matters cannot be disclosed publicly yet,” the Minister stated.
On Nagercoil custodial death of Sabari Varman
Answering subsequent questions, he stated that strict action would be taken against those responsible for the death of remand prisoner S. Sabari Varman in Nagercoil. “If a death occurs in prison, this government will definitely take stringent action. Previous governments used to cover up such incidents. However, based on the Chief Minister’s orders, cases were registered two days ago and everyone involved has been arrested,” he said. He added that in cases of prison or lock-up deaths, the government would firmly stand by the victims.
‘DMK, AIADMK and BJP may come together’
Furthermore, alleging that the DMK, AIADMK, and BJP are attempting to form a government together, he sarcastically remarked, “Unable to run their own parties, the DMK and AIADMK might merge with the BJP in another two or three years, securing perhaps two Cabinet Minister posts for Mr. Stalin’s (DMK president) family and two Cabinet Minister posts for Mr. Palaniswami’s (AIADMK general secretary) family.”
He also claimed attempts are being made to buy ruling TVK MLAs, with offers ranging from ₹30 crore to ₹50 crore.
Further alleging severe corruption in the Registration Department over the past five years — noting that property registrations were carried out as late as 9 p.m. on multiple occasions — the Minister levelled serious accusations against former Registration Minister P. Moorthy. “A person was stationed at every registration office to collect the ‘Minister’s cutting’ (commission). If you were to register a property worth one lakh rupees, twenty thousand rupees would go towards bribe,” the Minister claimed.
He emphasised that if anyone demands a bribe, action will be taken immediately if a complaint is lodged via the toll-free number. When asked about the cancellation of several projects initiated during the previous administration, he claimed, “Projects in every department were designed with a 20% to 30% commission built into them. By revising old tenders, we are cutting down the money meant for commissions. We have instructed officials to eliminate that 30% commission previously taken and then resubmit the tenders.”
Regarding the appointment of government lawyers, he stated that over 80% to 90% of the appointments have already been completed. He said f any unsuitable or inept individuals are found to have been included, they will be replaced.
Published – July 16, 2026 07:19 pm IST
