Chennai : A heated debate took place in the Tamil Nadu Assembly on August 21 after the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) formally declined Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay’s offer to provide free official vehicles to all 234 Members of the Legislative Assembly (MLAs), citing the state’s rising debt.
Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin announced that all 59 DMK MLAs would refuse the offer. He criticised the ruling Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (TVK) government’s stance, highlighting that it had frequently emphasised the state’s financial difficulties since assuming power.
“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.
He further criticised 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.”
In response, Minister Adhav Arjuna defended the proposal, saying the Chief Minister intended to treat all MLAs equally. He remarked that many MLAs from smaller parties such as the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) and the Communist parties were in poor financial condition and that vehicles constituted a necessity rather than a luxury for carrying out constituency duties.
Minister Arjuna also questioned the Leader of the Opposition’s refusal to accept the vehicle, asking, “If the LoP doesn’t want a car, why is he staying in government quarters when he has three bungalows?”
This comment prompted intervention from senior DMK leader KN Nehru, who explained that the Leader of the Opposition holds a cabinet-rank status and is required to reside in official housing to effectively perform his responsibilities.
Communist Party of India MLA Thalai Ramachandran stated that his party would also decline the vehicle offer. Meanwhile, Pattali Makkal Katchi (PMK) MLA Ganesh Kumar proposed a compromise, supporting the DMK leader’s suggestion that the government should verify the financial status of legislators before distributing vehicles.
The controversy follows Chief Minister Vijay’s announcement on August 19 that the state government would provide an official vehicle to all 234 MLAs, in addition to a monthly allowance of Rs 1 lakh for maintenance, driver, and office assistance. The day after the announcement, various car models, including Mahindra SUVs Scorpio and XUV 3XO, were displayed at the Secretariat for legislators to select from.
