The prompt appreciation of the Union Budget by Chief Minister and AIADMK co-coordinator Edappadi K. Palaniswami has rekindled the debate in political circles whether the AIADMK is inching closer to an alliance with the BJP.
Even last year, the CM welcomed the Budget. “Merely on this count, one cannot conclude that our party will have a tie-up with the BJP,” a senior member of the AIADMK said.
Acknowledging that the Budget had some popular features, M. Thambi Durai, Lok Sabha Deputy Speaker and AIADMK propaganda secretary, who has been critical of the BJP, felt that some of the measures, like providing full rebate on income tax for those with an annual taxable income of up to ₹5 lakh, could have been implemented much earlier. The ceiling could have been fixed at ₹8 lakh — the threshold used to determine the eligibility for the 10% quota for the economically weaker sections under the general category.