O. Panneerselvam. File
| Photo Credit: M. Periasamy

ADMK Workers’ Rights Retrieval Committee coordinator O. Panneerselvam on Tuesday (May 13, 2025) contended that several sections of society remained “dissatisfied” with the functioning of the DMK regime in Tamil Nadu.

This was despite the State government getting an additional revenue of ₹1 lakh crore annually and taking loans to the extent of ₹5 lakh crore, Mr. Panneerselvam said, adding that government employees, teachers, doctors, nurses, traders, small-scale entrepreneurs, industrialists, and farmers were among those sections “drowning in dissatisfaction.” 

On the issue of public debt, Mr. Panneerselvam, who was Finance Minister in the previous AIADMK government, pointed out that by the end of the present government’s term, the State would have drawn loans for about ₹4.85 lakh crore. If the loans taken by the State power and transport utilities were to be added, the total figure would touch ₹15 lakh crore. “It is because of wrong economic policy and fiscal management of the DMK regime that the overall financial position has worsened. To put it in DMK’s language, every child is born in this State with a loan of ₹3 lakh,” he explained. 

Though the DMK government had brought out a White Paper on the finances of the State and at the time of elections, the ruling party had assured people that it would set right the financial health of the State, it had kept increasing the amount of loans drawn, Mr. Panneerselvam added. 

In a post on his social media handle, AMMK general secretary T.T.V. Dhinakaran deplored the State Health department for its “indifferent attitude” towards the issue of 34 medical colleges facing the danger of losing their recognition on account of shortage of teaching faculty. He called for immediate steps to fill vacancies in the colleges.