120035674NEW DELHI: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday categorically refuted the allegations made by Tamil Nadu chief minister MK Stalin over inadequate allocation of funds to the state and said that “some people have the habit of crying without any reason.”
During a public address in Rameswaram, PM Modi, without naming Stalin, claimed that the central government has allocated three times more money for the development of the state in the last decade than the previous government.
“Tamil Nadu has a very big role in the journey of a developed India. I believe the stronger Tamil Nadu becomes, the faster India will grow. In the last decade, the central government has allocated three times more money for the development of Tamil Nadu than in 2014,” PM Modi said.
“Despite this, some people have the habit of crying without any reason; they keep crying. Before 2014, only Rs 900 crore was received every year for the railway project. This year, Tamil Nadu’s railway budget is more than Rs 6,000 crore, and the Government of India is also modernizing 77 railway stations here. This includes the railway station in Rameswaram,” he added.
PM Modi remarks came after CM Stalin accused the Union government of neglecting and betraying Tamil Nadu by not releasing the required funds, stating that the latter could not accept the fact that the state was growing.
Accusing the Centre of not giving states their rightful share of resources, Stalin said, “After sucking out all state taxes through the GST regime, the Union government is refusing to disburse the dues of states. They are refusing to announce new schemes or release funds even for joint projects between the state and Union governments.”
“Don’t hurl stones at a beehive. Don’t provoke the unique spirit of the Tamil people. Don’t seek to witness the resurgence of Tamil defiance. As long as I am here, as long as the DMK is here, no anti-Tamil, anti-Tamil Nadu, or anti-Tamilian agenda will succeed,” he added.
Congress leader and former Union finance minister P Chidambaram also weighed in on the ongoing debate over the allocation of funds to the state and explained that the ‘economic metric’ will always be higher than in the previous years.
In social media post on X, Chidambaram said, “Hon’ble PM and Central ministers constantly say that they have given more money to TN in 2014-24 than was given in 2004-14. For example, Hon’ble PM said that his government has given for railway projects in TN seven times more money than before. Ask a first year student of economics. She will tell you that the ‘economic metric’ will always be higher than in the previous years.”
“The GDP’s size is bigger now than before. The size of the central Budget is bigger every year than in the previous year. Government’s total expenditure is bigger every year than in the previous year. You are one year older than in the previous year. In terms of ‘numbers’, the number will be bigger, but is it higher in teems of proportion of GDP or in terms of proportion of total expenditure?” he added.
