Opposition parties have reacted to the budget presented by the Tamil Nadu Finance Minister Palanivel Thiagarajan (PTR) on Monday, March 20. Members from the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) staged a walkout, led by the party’s interim general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswamy (EPS) during the Budget speech. The MLAs said that they had staged a walkout because the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) failed to keep inflation in check. They added that the prices of food, milk and real estate property had also increased.

Interacting with the press after the walkout, EPS said that after the DMK came to power, Tamil Nadu’s debt increased. He said, “The debt has increased, but it does not look like any important scheme mentioned by the DMK has been implemented. DMK’s election manifesto has not been implemented completely. The Tamil Nadu people expected it to be implemented this time but were cheated.” He also alleged that they were not given copies of the budget since it was presented in a digital format.

Meanwhile, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) received the budget with mixed reactions. The party’s Tamil Nadu chief Annamalai said that he was happy that the DMK government had remembered their poll promise of offering Rs 1,000 per month to homemakers. He said, “The first installment of the payment is expected to start in September, so I hope the DMK government will pay the arrears for the previous 28 months as well.” He also added that instead of giving Rs 1,000 to only eligible women, the money should be given to all 2.2 crore women with ration cards across the state.

ஆட்சிக்கு வந்து 2 வருடங்களுக்குப் பிறகு, ‘மகளிருக்கு மாதம் ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் வழங்கப்படும்’ என்ற தேர்தல் வாக்குறுதி திமுகவுக்கு ஞாபகம் வந்ததில் மகிழ்ச்சி.

வரும் செப்டம்பர் மாதம் இந்த தொகை வழங்கப்படும்போது, முதல் தவணையில் இதுவரையிலான 28 மாத நிலுவைத் தொகையுடன் சேர்த்து, (1/2)

— K.Annamalai (@annamalai_k) March 20, 2023

Narayanan Thirupathy, the vice-president of the Tamil Nadu BJP expressed displeasure about the Rs 1,000 per month that was going to be provided to homemakers. He said, “They claim that they will give Rs 1,000 per month to homemakers in Tamil Nadu which has more than 2.2 crore families. They are allocating Rs 7,000 crore which will cover only about Rs 50 lakh. Do they think people are fools?” He also pointed out that the Rs 1,800 crore allocated to develop a textile park in Virudhunagar was part of a Union government scheme under Pradhan Mantri Mega Integrated Textile Region and Apparel.

குடும்ப தலைவிகளுக்கு மாதம் ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் கொடுப்பதாக சொல்லிவிட்டு 2 கோடி குடும்பங்களுக்கும் மேல் உள்ள தமிழகத்தில் சுமார் 50 லட்சம் குடும்ப தலைவிகளுக்கு மட்டும் மாதம் ஆயிரம் ரூபாய் (ரூபாய் 7000 கோடி ஒதுக்கீடு) ஒதுக்கீடு செய்வது மக்கள் ஏமாளிகள் என்ற எண்ணத்தில் தானே?

— Narayanan Thirupathy (@narayanantbjp) March 20, 2023

விருதுநகர் மாவட்டத்தில் 1800கோடி ரூபாய் செலவில் ஜவுளிப்பூங்கா அமைக்கப்படும் - தமிழக பட்ஜெட்டில் @ptrmadurai

இது மத்திய அரசின் திட்டம் (PM-MITRA). மூலதன செலவுகளை மத்திய அரசே ஏற்கிறது. கடந்த அக்டோபர் மாதமே இதற்கான ஒப்புதலை மத்திய அமைச்சரவை அளித்து விட்டது என்பது குறிப்பிடத்தக்கது

— Narayanan Thirupathy (@narayanantbjp) March 20, 2023

Meanwhile, Amar Prasad Reddy, the state president of Sports and Skill Development of the Tamil Nadu BJP, blamed the DMK for simply announcing the schemes already implemented by the Union government. He said, “ Do we need a finance minister and a budget session in assembly for just announcing the names of the Central Govt schemes in Tamil? The budget presented today without the renamed union government schemes is simply a 'daydream statement’ without any visionary plan(sic).” 

Do we need a finance minister and a budget session in assembly for just announcing the names of the Central Govt schemes in Tamil?

The budget presented today without the renamed Central govt schemes is simply a 'daydream statement’ without any visionary plan. @blsanthosh

— Amar Prasad Reddy (@amarprasadreddy) March 20, 2023