AIADMK’s former coordinator, O. Panneerselvam, who presented 11 budgets between 2011 and 2021, has described the State budget as directionless.
In a statement, he said non-implementation of several measures - subsidy in cooking gas cylinders, provision of an additional kg of sugar along with urad dal, restoration of monthly billing cycle for domestic consumers of electricity, waiver of educational loans, re-introduction of old pension scheme for employees of the government and pay hike for secondary teachers and government doctors, who had been seeking promotion - has disappointed people.
AMMK general secretary, T.T. V. Dhinakaran, found fault with the DMK regime for being hesitant to declare that a caste survey be carried out, even though several other States had set an example in this regard. By announcing that 50,000 posts would be filled in the next two years, the ruling party had gone back on its promise of filling 3.5 lakh government posts. He came down heavily on the government for not making any announcement with regard to improving Amma Unavagams and laptop scheme. The former interim general secretary of the AIADMK, V.K. Sasikala, termed the budget as an “ornamental statement” with “empty announcements” and “publicity material.”
