Repartee in TN Assembly as Finance Minister targets AIADMK, says someone is determining its future

Chennai, Mar 21 (PTI) There was a pleasant repartee in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Friday when Finance Minister Thangam Thennarasu targeted the opposition AIADMK with 'arithmetic' analogy and said someone was working out its political future.

Referring to former AIADMK state Minister P Thangamani's comment on March 20 in the Assembly that the DMK government's calculation of providing free laptops to 20 lakh students at an outlay of Rs 2,000 crore was incorrect, Thennarasu said, "You have been a little careless in your addition and subtraction in laptop issue." The state government will allocate Rs 2,000 crore in the initial phase to provide free laptops to college students. The gadgets would be qualitatively good and make others feel 'jealous', Thennarasu said while winding up the debate on the Budget for 2025-26, which he presented on March 14.

"Here, you are working out the addition and subtraction on laptops distribution and been careless. But someone shrewd like Chanakya is determining your party's political future with their arithmetic. You need to be careful on this," the Finance Minister said without naming the BJP.

After a dramatic pause, the Minister resumed his speech to say "the BJP member Vanathi Srinivasan is all smiles as if the cat is out of the bag." The remark evoked spontaneous laughter from the Treasury Benches including Chief Minister M K Stalin.

Later, AIADMK legislator Thangamani replied that his party was ideologically strong and that no one could deceive them with their "addition or subtraction." At this, the Chief Minister said, "my best wishes if you don't allow yourself to be deceived." Later, speaking to reporters outside the Assembly House, Leader of the Opposition AIADMK Edappadi K Palaniswami said as a Finance Minister, Thangam Thennarasu was talking about arithmetic.

"Let him implement the account in the Budget properly. We know how to take care of our account. His concern is akin to the wolf crying when the sheep got drenched," Palaniswami said.

As far as the AIADMK was concerned, alliances were formed only during elections and his party was ideologically strong. The AIADMK differed from the DMK and its allies who presented a picture of unity with regard to their principles. His party would never lose its self-respect, the former Chief Minister added. PTI JSP ROH

Source: PTI