Chennai, Feb 17: Presenting the Interim Budget for 2026-27 in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on Tuesday, Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu alleged that the Union government was making sustained efforts to “artificially precipitate” a fiscal crisis in the state.
Making allocations and outlining key government schemes and their impact, Thenarasu said that while instances of states being treated unfairly in a federal set-up were not new, the scale of challenges faced by the current state government was unprecedented.
He cited issues such as denial of sanctions for major infrastructure projects in Tamil Nadu, withholding of funds for centrally sponsored schemes, curtailment of tax revenues without adequate consultation, and what he called unfair conditions imposed to mandate expenditure. He also listed challenges faced by the state in the ongoing financial year.
The minister’s Interim Budget speech ran for nearly 2.30 hours and was described as among the lengthiest addresses in the House.
Tamil Nadu is due to go to Assembly elections in April 2026, and polls are expected to be held that month.
By Juhi | With inputs from PTI