A heated debate broke out in the Tamil Nadu Assembly after the opposition DMK formally rejected Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay’s proposal to provide free official vehicles to all 234 MLAs, citing the state’s growing debt burden.
Leader of Opposition (LoP) Udhayanidhi Stalin said all 59 DMK legislators had decided not to accept the offer. He also questioned the TVK-led government’s consistency, noting that the administration has repeatedly highlighted the state’s financial difficulties since assuming office.
“Since the TVK government has been saying from day one after assuming power that the government is in debt, all 59 DMK MLAs have decided not to avail this offer. We urge the government to provide free cars to MLAs only after verifying their election affidavits–whether they already own cars and what their financial status is,” Udhayanidhi said.
The LoP further took a dig at the ruling party’s ideology, stating, “TVK said they were against freebies and kept saying the government is in debt; hence, we decided not to accept the offer to reduce the government’s debt burden.”
Responding sharply, Minister Adhav Arjuna defended the proposal, saying the Chief Minister intended to ensure equal treatment for all MLAs. He pointed out that several legislators from smaller parties, including the VCK and Communist parties, are financially constrained, and argued that official vehicles should not be viewed as a luxury but as a basic necessity for them to travel across their constituencies.
Arjuna also launched a personal attack on the Leader of Opposition, questioning his decision to occupy government-provided accommodation. “The CM made the announcement treating all MLAs equally. If the LoP does not want a car, why is he staying in government quarters when he has three bungalows?” the Minister asked.
This drew an intervention from senior DMK leader KN Nehru, who clarified that the Leader of Opposition holds cabinet-rank status and is required to stay in official accommodation to effectively discharge his responsibilities.
CPI MLA Thalai Ramachandran also said that his party would reject the vehicle offer. Meanwhile, PMK MLA Ganesh Kumar proposed a middle ground, agreeing with the LoP that the government should assess the financial status of legislators before providing them with official vehicles.
The development comes after Chief Minister Vijay announced on Wednesday that the state government would provide official vehicles to all 234 MLAs, along with a monthly allowance of Rs 1 lakh towards maintenance, driver and office-related expenses. Following the announcement, several car models, including Mahindra SUVs such as the Scorpio and XUV 3XO, were lined up at the Secretariat on Thursday for legislators to select from.
