Chennai: The Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government’s White Paper on Tamil Nadu’s finances under the previous M.K. Stalin administration has come under scrutiny after the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) alleged that the document extensively copied material from the party’s own 2021 White Paper on the state’s finances.

The DMK has released a counter-report claiming that the Vijay-led government borrowed heavily from the White Paper published by the then opposition party in 2021, which had examined the financial position of the previous AIADMK government.

According to the DMK’s report, a forensic comparison of the two documents identified “eight categories of textual and structural copying”.

DMK alleges verbatim copying

The DMK’s rebuttal claimed that several sections of the TVK government’s White Paper contained verbatim passages, including sentence sequences of up to 22 consecutive identical words without attribution.

The party further alleged that portions dealing with Public Sector Undertakings (PSUs) and the water sector had been reproduced almost word-for-word from the earlier document.

According to the report, multiple methodologies were employed to compare the two documents, including sentence-level verbatim matching, n-gram scanning of identical word sequences, near-paraphrase detection and structural comparisons of tables, charts and section architecture.

The DMK also said it cross-verified factual claims in the TVK White Paper using Tamil Nadu Budget documents, analyses by PRS Legislative Research, State Finances reports published by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG), and material submitted before the Sixteenth Finance Commission.

Questions raised over fiscal claims

The opposition party also challenged several fiscal assertions made by the TVK government.

Among the claims flagged was the government’s statement that Tamil Nadu was facing a “highest-ever” revenue deficit. According to the DMK, the figure was based on a provisional pre-audit projection rather than final audited accounts, potentially overstating the scale of the deficit.

The party alleged that the White Paper repeatedly relied on a limited set of figures and superlative descriptions that were not fully supported by the underlying data contained in official documents and charts.

TVK government’s White Paper on state finances

The White Paper on Tamil Nadu’s finances was among Chief Minister Vijay’s first major policy announcements after assuming office last month.

According to the document, Tamil Nadu’s direct debt has increased sharply from around ₹4.8 lakh crore five years ago to nearly ₹10 lakh crore at present.

When off-budget borrowings, guarantees and other liabilities are included, the state’s total financial liabilities are estimated at ₹13.18 lakh crore.

The TVK government argued that the debt accumulated over the last five years exceeded the total debt accumulated during the previous six decades.

It further claimed that a significant portion of the borrowings had been utilised to finance day-to-day expenditure rather than create long-term infrastructure assets.

The White Paper also stated that for every rupee earned by the government, 22.8 paise is spent on servicing interest payments, highlighting the growing burden of debt obligations.

DMK terms report a ‘political diversion’

Following the release of the White Paper, the DMK accused the TVK government of using the document to divert attention from its “administrative failures” and “unfulfilled electoral promises”.

Senior DMK leader and former Finance Minister Thangam Thenarasu described the document as a “total flop” and an exercise in “political escapism”.

He said the state’s financial position had already been explained in detail during the presentation of the state budget and alleged that the current government had failed to fulfil the promises made during the election campaign due to administrative inefficiency.

According to Thenarasu, the White Paper was released to deflect public criticism and delay demands for the implementation of welfare schemes promised by the ruling party.

The plagiarism allegations have now added a fresh political dimension to the debate over Tamil Nadu’s fiscal position, with both the ruling TVK and the opposition DMK trading charges over the state’s finances and governance.