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‘Tax money wasted for Vijay's luxury’: BJP questions ₹6.17 crore allocation for shifting CM's office
Nainar Nagendran shared an official document which said that ₹6.17 crore had been allocated for shifting chief minister Joseph Vijay’s office.
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Tamil Nadu BJP chief and former minister Nainar Nagendran on Monday criticised the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government over the alleged allocation of ₹6.17 crore for shifting chief minister Joseph Vijay’s office to the 10th floor of Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai.
Nagendran shared an official document, which he claimed was obtained under the Right to Information (RTI) Act. The document said that ₹6.17 crore had been allocated for shifting the CMO and carrying out related works.
On X, Nagendran alleged that the expenditure amounted to a waste of taxpayers’ money for the chief minister’s “luxury” and personal reasons. He said the RTI disclosure had raised questions about the TVK government’s claim of bringing about political change.
Deep Dive
“Is the people's tax money being wasted for the luxury of Chief Minister Joseph Vijay? - Condemnation of the TVK government. The colour of the Chief Minister, who came to power saying 'I will bring change, I will do new politics,' has faded in a short time itself through the information that has come out under the Right to Information Act (RTI),” he said.
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Nagendran also questioned the decision to spend more than ₹6 crore on shifting the office temporarily when the government had announced plans to build a new Secretariat at a cost of ₹1,200 crore.
“Announcing that a new Secretariat will be built at a cost of ₹1,200 crore, why waste so many crores of rupees to shift the office temporarily? When there are already adequate facilities in the Secretariat Fort, in what way is it justified to spend more than Rs. 6 crore to shift the Chief Minister's office for luxury and for his personal reasons?” he added.
In a fresh a post on X, Nagendran said, “The Assembly is not your cinema studio, Mr [Vijay]” He accused Vijay of treating the Assembly as a platform for “stacked-up dialogues” and said the people of Tamil Nadu were not there merely to react to political rhetoric.
BJP raises farmers’ concerns
Nagendran also questioned the government’s spending priorities, referring to farmers whose paddy, he alleged, was being damaged by rain due to a lack of adequate storage godowns.
He asked whether the chief minister felt it was justified to spend such a large amount on a temporary office while farmers were struggling to protect their produce.
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“Change should blossom in the lives of the people, and not on the walls of the Chief Minister's office,” Nagendran said.
RTI response confirms allocation
The details cited by Nagendran were provided by the Public (Buildings) Department in response to an RTI application filed on August 23.
In response to a query on the “funds allocated for shifting the Chief Minister's Office to the 10th floor of Namakkal Kavignar Maligai and carrying out related works”, the Public Information Officer and Executive Engineer said that ₹6.17 crore had been allocated for the purpose, as per ANI.
BJP flags murders, custodial deaths
Nagendran, on X, cited a series of incidents to question the government’s handling of law and order. He said Coimbatore district, which has two ministers from the TVK, recorded 10 murders in the past month.
He also pointed to two murders reported in Chennai on a single day and claimed that six custodial deaths had occurred since Vijay assumed office. Nagendran alleged that some police personnel on duty were treating members of the public with disdain, leading to a loss of confidence in the police force.
The BJP chief said the chief minister should have responded to these incidents during the Assembly’s discussion on the police department’s grant demands and taken responsibility for the law and order situation.
Instead, Nagendran alleged that Vijay behaved as though law and order was not his responsibility and resorted to shouting and making remarks resembling dialogues from an action film.
He described this as “uncivil politics” and asked the chief minister to focus his Assembly interventions on issues concerning public welfare.
Nagendran said Tamil Nadu had no need for “father-son” stories and similar rhetoric in the Assembly.
Vijay attacks DMK over corruption allegations
Vijay on Monday accused the DMK of corruption and alleged that party funds were collected during its previous regimes. Citing Enforcement Directorate documents, Vijay alleged irregularities in the municipal administration department and TASMAC.
He named former CM M K Stalin, Udhayanidhi Stalin and former minister V Senthil Balaji while making the allegations.
ALSO READ | Functionary of Vijay's TVK hacked to death in Chennai's posh area; Stalin asks, ‘Is this law and order?’
He also referred to the Sarkaria Commission report and alleged tender-related corruption during the DMK government in the 1970s, calling the alleged practices “scientific corruption”.
The remarks triggered a protest by DMK MLAs, who entered the well of the Assembly and later walked out after demanding a response to the allegations.
Vijay said further scrutiny of government records would expose the DMK’s “false image”. He said his aim was to serve the people rather than seek power.
