Annamalai hits back at Chidambaram, 'thanks' him for acknowledging GDP growth

Chennai: Tamil Nadu BJP President K Annamalai has hit out at senior Congress leader P Chidambaram who raised questions over allocations to Tamil Nadu by the Centre and said that between 2014-15 and 2025, the state received Rs 6,21,938 crore, a 307 percent growth.

Annamalai, in a social media post thanked Chidambaram for "acknowledging that India’s GDP is expanding today, almost inching closer to USD 4 trillion in record time, under the able leadership of our Hon PM Thiru Narendramodi. India had to wait until 2007, as Congress took 60 years to achieve a 1 trillion-dollar economy."

The BJP leader said Chidambaram feels that it is no great deal for the railways budget to increase multifold, considering that the country's GDP has also expanded. He said: "The average budget allocation for Tamil Nadu's Railways between 2009 and 2014 was Rs 900 Crores. For the financial year 2025-26, the allocation is Rs 6626 Crores. Even considering a modest CAGR of 10% for the past 11 years, the budgetary allocation for improving Tamil Nadu's railway infra for FY25-26 should be about Rs 2600 Crores. Rs 6626 Crores means that the compounded annual growth rate at which the allocation for railways has been made is 20%.

The capital expenditure for Indian Railways in 2013-14 was Rs 45,980 Crores, which has today increased to Rs 2.6 Lakh Crores. Is the annual increase in GDP in correlation with this increase in capital expenditure, Thiru Chidambaram? Between 2004 and 2013-2014, Tamil Nadu received Rs 1,52,902 Crores as Devolution and grants from the Central Government. Between 2014-15 and 2025, Tamil Nadu received Rs 6,21,938 Crores, a 307% growth. Tamil Nadu received a devolution of Rs 15,853 Crores in 2013-14 (last year of the UPA Government), and in this FY 2024-25, it received Rs 52,491 Crores. The increase is mainly because the Centre increased the State’s share in the divisible pool from 32% to 42%. During the UPA Government, the State’s share in the divisible pool increased from 30.5% to 32%; slow claps to your generosity, Thiru Chidambaram." Further, Annamalai said Chidambaram was still coming to terms with the success of digital payments in India, which he strongly felt would never take off in rural India.

After PM Modi, on April 6, detailed allocations to Tamil Nadu and its growth, Chidambaram wrote on 'X' : Hon'ble PM and Central ministers constantly say that they have given more money to TN in 2014-24 than was given in 2004-14. For example, Hon'ble PM said that his government has given for railway projects in TN seven times more money than before. Ask a first year student of economics. She will tell you that the 'economic metric' will always be higher than in the previous years. The GDP's size is bigger now than before. The size of the central Budget is bigger every year than in the previous year. Government's total expenditure is bigger every year than in the previous year. You are one year older than in the previous year. In terms of 'numbers', the number will be bigger, but is it higher in terms of proportion of GDP or in terms of proportion of total expenditure?