Minister Sekarbabu declares TN budget globally acclaimed, brushes off Annamalai’s criticism

CHENNAI: Minister for Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments P K Sekarbabu on Sunday stated that the DMK’s Dravidian Model government’s budget has been hailed by intellectuals and international communities. Hence, they are not concerned about the criticism from the president of BJP’s TN unit that was born out of falsehood and thrives on it every day.

It is not surprising to see Annamalai criticising the budget. However, the fact is that the true critics of this government, who had mocked it earlier, are now applauding the fiscal report of the state for the year 2025-2026.

The budget reflects Chief Minister M K Stalin’s political vision and wisdom, which has been appreciated globally. Hence, they prefer not to waste time responding to someone like Annamalai, said the minister, after attending the wedding of four couples at the Vadapalani Murugan temple under the HR & CE department’s free wedding scheme.

This was in response to a question about Annamalai’s criticism of the budget, where he described it as a political agenda aimed at favoring the ruling DMK, and claimed it lacks key components to live up to the aspirations of the people of the state.

Sekarbabu further stated that the “genuine farming community” is also appreciating the state’s agricultural fiscal report and speaking positively about it.

Regarding the department’s free wedding scheme, the minister mentioned that a total of 1,786 couples have benefited from the scheme since 2022-2023. The department has provided four grams of gold and gifts worth Rs 60,000 to each couple.