"State GDP fell during AIADMK rule"

Tamil Nadu's GDP, which had touched 6.59% during the DMK regime, had slid to 2.68% in the first year itself of AIADMK regime, P Chidambaram said.

Tamil Nadu's GDP, which had touched 6.59 per cent during the DMK regime, had slid to 2.68 per cent in the first year and to 0.53 per cent in the second year of AIADMK regime, former Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram said here.

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Chidambaram, who filed his nomination yesterday, told reporters that the government was yet to release the GDP figures for the current year.

Claiming that `Tamil Nadu was sliding, and not shining', he said the state's agriculture growth was -2.04 per cent in the first year of AIADMK regime and -12.28 per cent in the second year. In the industrial sector also, there was negative growth with -0.19 per cent in the first year and -0.16 per cent in the second year.

He said the failure of the government to get Kavery water was the main reason for the negative growth. The government had not encouraged new investments in the industrial sector, he added.