‘Costly Chief Minister’: TN BJP chief claims Vijay’s Mettur visit cost Rs 5 crore

Tiruchirapalli, Tamil Nadu: Tamil Nadu BJP chief Nainar Nagendran on Wednesday launched a sharp attack on the TVK government, alleging that Rs 5 crore was spent on Chief Minister Vijay’s recent visit to Mettur Dam.

Nagendran claimed that the expenditure on the visit, including the deployment of barricades, was higher than the historical cost of constructing the reservoir.

Addressing reporters in Tiruchirapalli, the BJP leader described Vijay as a "costly Chief Minister" and questioned the need to spend public money on the visit when the dam was only partially filled.

"Until today, the total expenditure incurred to construct the Mettur Dam was only Rs 4.80 crore. Today, the Chief Minister has spent Rs 5 crore just to travel from his point of departure to Mettur with barricades lined up on both sides," Nagendran alleged.

He also accused the state government of "failing" delta farmers, pointing to delays in opening the Mettur Dam's sluice gates, which are traditionally opened on June 12 for cultivation.

According to Nagendran, the dam has a total capacity of 95 thousand million cubic feet (TMC) but currently holds only 54 TMC. He said it would take at least 12 days for water released from the reservoir to reach the tail-end regions of the Cauvery delta.

The BJP leader also criticised the TVK government over the alleged failure to secure Tamil Nadu's share of Cauvery water from Karnataka.

"The Karnataka government has not released water, yet the Chief Minister has not spoken a single word," he said, alleging that Karnataka had failed to release the 94 TMC of water stipulated by the Cauvery Water Management Authority for July and August.

Nagendran claimed that nearly two lakh hectares of agricultural land remained uncultivated because of water scarcity and demanded immediate compensation for affected farmers.

He further said farmers were holding demonstrations in Chennai over what he described as the TVK government's failure to fulfil its electoral promises.

The BJP leader also criticised remarks made in the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly, alleging that prioritising Christianity over the Tamil language had alienated the Hindu population and could affect the government's standing.

Responding to a question on possible leadership projections, Nagendran pointed to differences within the opposition alliance, saying Congress leaders were projecting Rahul Gandhi while others were backing actor-politician Vijay.

The remarks come amid continuing political sparring between the BJP and the TVK government over water management, farmers' concerns and the functioning of the state administration.