A political row broke out in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday over Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s decision to provide official vehicles to all 234 MLAs.
The opposition DMK said its 59 MLAs would not accept the vehicles, citing the state’s financial situation. Leader of Opposition (LoP) Udhayanidhi Stalin said all 59 DMK legislators had decided to reject the offer. "Since the TVK government has been saying from day one after assuming power that the government is in debt, all 59 DMK MLAs have decided not to avail this offer. We urge the government to provide free cars to MLAs only after verifying their election affidavits--whether they already own cars and what their financial status is," Udhayanidhi said. He also criticised the TVK government over its stand on freebies. "TVK said they were against freebies and kept saying the government is in debt; hence, we decided not to accept the offer to reduce the government's debt burden," the DMK leader said.
Tamil Nadu Government Defends Free Vehicle Scheme
Minister Adhav Arjuna defended the government's decision, saying the Chief Minister wanted all MLAs to be treated equally.
Arjuna said several MLAs from smaller parties, including the VCK and Communist parties, were financially weak. He argued that vehicles were a basic requirement for legislators to travel across their constituencies and were not a luxury.
The minister also questioned Udhayanidhi Stalin's decision to stay in government-provided accommodation.
"The CM made the announcement treating all MLAs equally. If the LoP doesn't want a car, why is he staying in government quarters when he has three bungalows?" Arjuna asked.
Senior DMK leader KN Nehru responded that the LoP has cabinet-rank status and is required to stay in official accommodation to discharge his duties.
CPI MLA Thalai Ramachandran also said his party would reject the vehicle offer. PMK MLA Ganesh Kumar suggested that the government should first check the financial status of individual legislators before providing them with vehicles.
What Is The Free Car Offer?
Chief Minister Vijay had announced on Wednesday that the state government would provide an official vehicle to each of the 234 MLAs.
The government will also provide a monthly allowance of Rs 1 lakh towards vehicle maintenance, a driver and office assistance.
Following the announcement, several car models, including Mahindra SUVs such as the Scorpio and XUV 3XO, were lined up at the Secretariat on Thursday for MLAs to choose from, news angency ANI reported.
The decision has now triggered a political debate, with the DMK questioning the government's decision to spend on vehicles while highlighting Tamil Nadu's financial burden.
