Refuting claims that the AIADMK government’s decision to join the NDA government’s UDAY scheme led to the recent power tariff revision, former electricity minister P. Thangamani challenged the current electricity minister, Thangam Thennarasu, to a debate

Thangamani asserted that the UDAY scheme, which aims to improve the financial health of state power distribution companies, had no adverse impact on the people of Tamil Nadu. Instead, he emphasized that the scheme helped reduce the debt burden of Tamil Nadu Generation and Distribution Corporation (Tangedco). According to Thangamani, joining the UDAY scheme was a strategic decision that resulted in significant financial benefits, including an estimated ₹11,000 crore savings from the repayment of high-interest loans, better coal allocation, access to central schemes, and lower interest loans from central funding agencies.

Thangamani criticized the DMK government for what he described as unnecessary revisions of the power tariff. He accused the DMK of using AIADMK as a scapegoat to cover its own failures. Thangamani highlighted that despite three tariff revisions in the last three years, the DMK government had been unable to make the electricity board profitable, attributing this to the current administration’s incompetence.

In his statement, Thangamani called for an open debate with Thennarasu to address the allegations and set the record straight. He argued that the DMK’s accusations were an attempt to distract from their inability to manage the state’s electricity sector effectively.