Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay had announced earlier this week that the government would provide official vehicles to all 234 MLAs, along with a monthly allowance of Rs 1 lakh towards maintenance, drivers and office assistance.
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Stalin said the DMK legislators had decided against accepting the benefit, arguing that the government should first address its debt burden.
“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.
Udhayanidhi questions government’s ‘freebies’ policy
The DMK leader also questioned the ruling TVK’s position on government freebies, saying the party had previously opposed such measures while repeatedly highlighting Tamil Nadu’s financial difficulties.
“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,” Udhayanidhi said.The announcement triggered a sharp response from Minister Adhav Arjuna, who defended the vehicle scheme and said the Chief Minister had intended to treat all legislators equally.
Arjuna argued that the vehicles would help MLAs, particularly those from smaller parties, travel across their constituencies. He said several legislators from parties such as the VCK and Communist parties were financially constrained and that vehicles should be viewed as a basic requirement for carrying out their duties rather than a luxury.
Minister questions Udhayanidhi over government quarters
Arjuna also took aim at Stalin over his use of government 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?” the Minister asked.
The remark prompted senior DMK leader KN Nehru to intervene. Nehru said Stalin holds cabinet-rank status as Leader of the Opposition and is required to use official accommodation to carry out his responsibilities.
CPI also rejects offer
The CPI also indicated that it would not accept the vehicle benefit. CPI MLA Thalai Ramachandran said members of his party would decline the offer.
PMK MLA Ganesh Kumar, meanwhile, suggested a compromise. He backed the proposal to assess the financial circumstances of individual legislators before providing them with government vehicles.
The controversy comes days after Vijay announced the vehicle scheme for all 234 MLAs.
Following the announcement, several vehicles, including Mahindra SUVs such as the Scorpio and XUV 3XO, were lined up at the state Secretariat on Thursday for legislators to select from.
The scheme includes not only the official vehicles but also a monthly Rs 1 lakh allowance covering vehicle maintenance, driver expenses and office assistance.
