AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K. Palaniswami on Wednesday (August 5, 2026) criticised the first Budget presented by the TVK-led coalition government, saying he would give it only “zero marks.”

Speaking to reporters at the Secretariat after the presentation of the Budget, Mr. Palaniswami said the ruling party had made several promises before coming to power, but none of them had found a place in the Budget. He alleged that the government had merely renamed existing schemes.

“The TVK had made several poll promises before coming to power. But there is not a single new scheme in the Budget. Only a sticker has been pasted on the existing schemes. None of the poll promises were fulfilled,” he said.

He recalled that the TVK had promised to increase the monthly entitlement for women to ₹2,500, and the old-age pension to ₹3,000. However, no announcement was made in this regard in the Budget, he said. “What happened to the promise of increasing the medical insurance cover to ₹25 lakh for all families,” he asked.

Mr. Palaniswami said the government had not taken any concrete steps to address the revenue deficit. “There are no proper commitments to restore the State’s financial position. Merely forming a committee will not restore the State finances,” Mr. Palaniswami said, adding that even the previous DMK government had formed an expert committee, but ended up increasing the debt by ₹5 lakh crore.

Referring to the AIADMK regime, he said the party had implemented schemes such as the gold-for-thaali scheme and distribution of goats and cows.