Chennai: Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N Marie Wilson on Wednesday presented the TVK government's first Budget in the Assembly and hailed Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay for halting "cut" in tenders.
Reiterating that the TVK regime opposes NEET, Wilson urged the Union government to scrap the test and revert to the old method of admissions based on class 12 marks.
He said several steps were being taken to bring the state out of "financial crunch."
He said CM Vijay has made a big achievement by stopping "cut" in tenders to some parties and individuals.
He also listed reformative initiatives, including transparency in tenders.
He also praised Vijay as a true democrat and said he overcame conspiracies and posted a historic win. Wilson said the chief minister entered public life solely to pay back the debt of gratitude to the people who gave him everything. He also quoted a couplet (All are equal by birth) from Tamil classic Thirukkural before submitting Budget estimates in the House.
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Referring to the 2026 Assembly polls, he said the victory of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam is not merely that of a political party; it is the victory of the entire people of Tamil Nadu.
Notably, the minister hailed the CM as a real democrat saying, "he overcame numerous conspiracies to win a historic victory, for the sake of the people he loves as his own life and for the people who love him as their own, and today he sits in this House as a true Jananayagan," an obvious pun on the CM's last film by the same name, which also means "people's leader."
Leader of Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin, who was arrested and later freed on station bail on August 3 and other prominent leaders from the DMK were seated in their respective seats in the House.
The minister said Vijay constantly guides them, offers counsel, and works tirelessly with the sole thought of delivering good governance to the people of the state.
"I express my heartfelt gratitude to this leader cherished by the people," he added.
The minister commnenced his speech by paying his deep respects to TVK's ideological icons 'Periyar' EV Ramasamy, former CM K Kamaraj, Dr BR Ambedkar, stalwarts of freedom struggle, Rani Velu Nachiyar and Anjalai Ammal.
Also, Wilson hailed late CMs CN Annadurai and MG Ramachandran as "people centric leaders" and said they governed democratically with unwavering focus on public welfare.
The minister said that the CM guided by the "all are equal" principle has achieved numerous accomplishments within just three months of assuming office and has earned an enduring place in the hearts of the people. "Our chief minister has brought about a massive people's revolution hitherto unseen in the political history of Tamil Nadu."
Increasing the free electricity provided to consumers with bi-monthly consumption of up to 500 units to 200 units and reducing their household expenses and a loan waiver for farmers through co-operative societies were among the initiatives he mentioned.
A special package for Kuruvai (short term) cultivation, the 'Singapenn Special Task Force' for women's safety, creation of Anti-Narcotics Task Force Units at the district level to root out the "deep-seated" drug culture in Tamil Nadu formed part of other schemes that Wilson cited.
Also, the finance minister referred to closure of 717 state-run liquor retail outlets located near educational institutions, places of worship and bus stands that disrupted "daily public life."
He also referred to the "Thaaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Thittam", (gold ring scheme for newborns) to be implemented from September 15, the birth anniversary of Annadurai, for children born in government hospitals.
The implementation of these schemes have reinforced the trust that people have placed in the TVK government, he added.
'Rise in interest payments, liabilities gives limited fiscal space for new schemes'
Interest payments and committed liabilities as a proportion of the state's total revenue receipts have been rising consistently, Tamil Nadu Finance Minister N Marie Wilson said.
The minister said immediately upon assuming office, the TVK government released the "White Paper on Financial Management" clearly indicating that Tamil Nadu's debt has doubled over the past five years, reaching about Rs 10 lakh crore.
Further, Tamil Nadu has recorded fiscal indicators that trail behind other peer states, including state's Own Tax Revenue as a proportion of Gross State Domestic Product (GSDP), Revenue Deficit and Fiscal Deficit.
He said, "Interest payments and committed liabilities as proportion of the state's Total Revenue Receipts, have been rising consistently, leaving limited fiscal space for new schemes and programmes."
In these challenging circumstances, the government is working on fulfilling its commitments to the public in a phased manner, while also taking various measures to recover the state from tight fiscal position.
Firstly, the practice of requiring mandatory submission of unnecessary certificates by contractors in public tenders that had made tenders non-competitive and it has now been abolished bringing transparency to the tendering process.
Secondly, the government has discontinued the prevailing system of restricting tender eligibility to the department's own registered contractors and now, contractors registered with any government department may bid for tenders issued by any other department, subject to the prescribed pre-qualification criteria.
Thirdly, to encourage young entrepreneurs and small businesses to bid for government tenders for the first time, eligibility criteria for low-value procurements have been relaxed, giving new and emerging contractors easier access to government tenders.
He said: "The resulting increase in competition is expected to bring greater efficiency to procurement and reduce fruitless expenditure. I am happy to inform this distinguished House that these initiatives have already begun to yield positive results, delivering significant cost savings for the state."
