A fresh controversy has erupted in after Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) leader and Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin accused the Chief Minister Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government of polishing rice meant for free distribution under the Public Distribution System (PDS) and selling it as Grade A fine-variety rice at ₹30 per kg.
According to news agency PTI, Stalin’s remarks came after complaints from consumers across the state. He accused the Vijay-led government of transparency failures and questioned the procurement process.
In a post, Stalin alleged, “The government announced that fine-quality Ponni rice could be bought for ₹30 at cooperative outlets to counter rising prices. But people across the state complain that regular free ration rice is merely being polished and sold under this label.” He further said, “In the Cumbum region, when people confronted a TVK MLA over this polished rice, the MLA fled the spot.”
The Tamil Nadu LoP said the distribution was limited to around 250 locations for the state’s 22.8 million family cardholders, with each family allowed to buy only five kg, even as complaints continued to emerge.
Seeking a full explanation from the ruling government, Stalin said there should be no “polishing” of the facts. He asked, “When did this government float tenders to procure fine Ponni rice? Which companies won the bids, at what cost did they supply it, and how much subsidy is the TVK government actually passing on to the public?”
He also drew a parallel with the previous DMK regime and recalled that former CM M Karunanidhi introduced a special public distribution scheme through open tenders in 2007, when prices of essential commodities were high. Stalin said that, under the scheme, the government provided , dal and pulses at subsidised rates.
Separately, the also criticised Chief Minister Vijay, accusing him of prioritising the refurbishment of his office over addressing key governance and public-welfare issues in Tamil Nadu.
On Monday, PTI reported that AIADMK senior leader R. B. Udhayakumar accused Vijay of focusing more on office decorations, including nameboards, and providing security escorts for his inner circle than on key governance tasks such as disaster management and controlling inflation.
In a video statement, the AIADMK leader questioned the newly formed government’s priorities, alleging a massive lack of transparency in the state’s recently launched ₹30-per-kg fine-grain rice scheme.
Udhayakumar said, “What is the Chief Minister’s job? Is it just decorating the CM’s office, installing plaques, and beautifying his residence? During times of disaster and heavy rains, actions must be taken on a war footing. Instead, your administration does not even know how to control the rising prices of essential commodities.”
Turning to the steep rise in prices of , he further said rice prices in the open market had increased from ₹30 to ₹60 per kg in the past three months. To prevent prices from rising beyond ₹100 per kg, the government introduced a scheme to sell fine-grain rice at ₹30 per kg.
However, the AIADMK leader described the scheme as “daylight robbery”. He alleged that the government was illegally taking the 20 kg of free rice, a scheme introduced by former Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa, polishing and repackaging it as fine-grain rice before selling it for ₹30 per kg.
“People who bought this rice are protesting in districts like Ariyalur, Salem, and Namakkal. They are demanding their money back because the rice emits a foul smell and is not even fit for poultry feed,” he claimed, adding that the DMK government had previously faced similar public backlash when it tried to sell rotten onions to control market prices.
The Chief Minister Vijay-led TVK government had not issued a statement addressing the controversy at the time of publication.
(with inputs from agencies)
