'30 percent of TN budget goes to Stalin', alleges TVK chief Vijay

Chennai, Mar 7 (PTI) Upping the ante against the DMK government, TVK chief Vijay on Saturday alleged that nearly 30 per cent of Tamil Nadu's Rs 4.39 lakh crore budget goes to Chief Minister M K Stalin and his Cabinet colleagues, dubbing it as the "Stalin sir tax." Addressing the party women at an event near Chennai to mark International Women's day, he alleged that 20 percent of the state budget goes to Stalin sir and 10 percent goes to his council of ministers.

"Our state's total budget is Rs 4.39 lakh crore. Out of that 30 per cent goes to Stalin Sir as tax -- 20 percent to the CM and 10 per cent to his council of ministers." Referring to the government's financial assistance scheme for women, Vijay said the availability of funds shows that the state does have the resources to implement welfare programmes and development initiatives.

"Government says there is no money. But, it is depositing Rs 5,000 in people's bank accounts early in the morning. You deposit Rs 2,000, Rs 3,000 and Rs 4,000 every month. How is this possible? The government does have money. The reason for the deficit is the Stalin Sir Tax," he said.

"If this Stalin sir tax is abolished, everything will function well on its own," he added.

The TVK chief, who has been making several promises, said such initiatives would be possible under a corruption-free and efficient administration.

On February 13, Stalin said his government had deposited Rs 5,000 into bank accounts of 1.31 crore women beneficiaries of the government's women entitlement scheme. Also, he announced that the monthly grant would be doubled to Rs 2,000 if his party was voted to power in the forthcoming polls. PTI VIJ JSP VGN ROH