Centre silent on dues even after multiple letters: OPS

Claiming that the State has done all that can be done, Panneerselvam, who also holds the finance portfolio, said: “We have written several letters and met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in person demanding the pending dues for the State. 

We cannot fight against the Central government with swords.” He was replying to Congress legislature party chief K R Ramasamy, who raised the issue of the State’s outstanding debt, which currently stands at Rs 3.97 lakh crore. “There is no mention of ways to increase the State’s revenue in the budget. Why is the State government not willing to adopt any new methods to increase its revenue?” asked Ramasamy.

The Congress legislator also said the present AIAMK government is pushing the State into a ‘debt trap’, which will pose huge challenges in the future. In response, Panneerselvam said the financial management of the State has improved. “The revenue deficit of the State was estimated at Rs 21,000 crore, but the actual revenue deficit is Rs 14,000 crore,” he said. 

Joining the debate, Fisheries Minister D Jayakumar said the State was owed Rs 5,000 crore when the Congress was in power at the Centre. Indirectly referring to P Chidambaram, Panneerselvam said: “A senior Congress leader from the State did not allot the due funds for Tamil Nadu even when he was the Union Finance Minister.” Stating that there are certain ways and means for demanding the pending dues, Jayakumar said: “We cannot fight on the road demanding the funds from the Centre.”