T.N. government has not implemented any scheme to generate jobs: Annamalai

Tamil Nadu has not implemented any scheme for increasing job generation in the State, alleged K. Annamalai, former State president of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Coimbatore on February 17, 2026, (Tuesday).

He told the media that according to the Interim Budget of the State, which was presented on Tuesday, the debt GDP ratio of the State has not reduced. Instead, the debt of the State in 2025-2026 is ₹9.29 lakh crore and it is projected to increase to ₹10.62 lakh crore next fiscal.

Tamil Nadu government will borrow ₹1.33 lakh crore in one year. According to the revenue receipt projection of the Budget last year, the State was expected to generate ₹3.31 lakh crore revenue. But, the actual realisation is ₹3.09 lakh crore. So there is ₹21,871 crore shortfall. “This is a government that does not generate revenue and spends by borrowing,” he said.

The gross enrolment ratio in higher education was 49 % when the DMK came to power four years ago. It has reduced by two percentage points to 47 % this year. The allocation for Higher Education Department is increased by just ₹11 crore. But, the government has announced that it will renovate Anna University at ₹1,380 crore. The allocation for the VB-G RAM G (rural employment scheme) has been reduced and just 23,879 people have submitted applications for the ‘Kalaignar Kaivinai Thittam’. The Central government implements the Vishwakarma scheme and though it is not implemented in Tamil Nadu, nearly eight lakh people had registered for it from the State.

The DMK government has said it spent ₹8,100 crore for temple renovation. But, it spent just about ₹82 crore. It should release a white paper on the amount spent for temples. The agriculture sector grew just 3 % in the State, while it grew at CAGR 10 % in Gujarat when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat for 10 years, he claimed.

The PLI scheme of the Central government is instrumental for development of electronic clusters in the State. The DMK government has not implemented any scheme to generate jobs in Tamil Nadu, he said.