
Uttar Pradesh 'lives' by way of money paid as tax contribution by Tamil Nadu to the Centre and this is the truth, Tamil Nadu Industries Minister TRB Rajaa has claimed.
Speaking to reporters here, Rajaa, in response to a question, asked: "From where did UP get money? Is it internal development? We have grown across sectors and TN accounts for 15 per cent of the total factory workers of the country." The question posed was about PMK leader Anbumani Ramadoss's reported remark that Uttar Pradesh has grown better than Tamil Nadu. Rajaa said the PMK leader "doing politics is okay," but that claim is laughable and childish.
Further, the TN minister said: "Investments secured is to the tune of about 11.32 lakh crore. During the last 3-4 years alone, about 35 lakh job opportunities have been created and it is according to Central government data and the economy booms." When the national growth rate is 6-7 per cent, Tamil Nadu, under the leadership of Chief Minister M K Stalin has grown by 11.19 per cent.
"The funds received by Uttar Pradesh is the union government's largesse and it is not even that, it is Tamil Nadu's funds (tax contribution); Uttar Pradesh lives its life from Tamil Nadu's funds and this is the truth," Rajaa claimed.
When Tamil Nadu gives one rupee in tax the state gets back only 29 paisa in return and where does the rest go? It goes to states like Uttar Pradesh. The state minister said on September 25, 2025: "From our funds, they are spinning a story claiming surplus; this claim is wrong." Anbumani knows the reality pretty well and he had also been a union minister. Rajaa urged Anbumani to show concern for Tamil Nadu and added that the PMK top leader may later demonstrate his concern for Uttar Pradesh and his friends there.
The minister, while commenting on the difference between being a woman in Tamil Nadu and elsewhere in the country, said that in northern states, a woman is usually asked only about her husband's job.
Addressing an event on Thursday at a noted women's college here, Rajaa said in Tamil Nadu, however, the scenario is different. In Tamil Nadu alone, a woman is asked about her educational accomplishments and her job.
"This does not happen overnight, it has taken a century of work at least in Tamil Nadu," he said, outlining the work of Dravidian movement leaders, including 'Periyar' EV Ramasamy.
"As regards our state, out of the top 100 educational institutions across the country, Tamil Nadu has 17 of them," he said citing the National Institutional Ranking Framework (NIRF-2025) rankings.
Rajaa, hailing Chief Minister Stalin's education related flagship initiatives and its success, credited the entire Dravidian leadership cutting across partylines for the growth in the state in the field of education.
The minister praised Periyar, Dravidian icon, DMK founder C N Annadurai, late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi, AIADMK founder leader M G Ramachandran and late AIADMK matriarch J Jayalalithaa and said all such leaders gave importance to education and "this is the way Tamil Nadu is growing." Annadurai, Karunanidhi, Ramachandran (MGR) and Jayalalithaa had all been the chief ministers of Tamil Nadu.
The minister further said that of all the women working in factories across India in the organised sector, 43 per cent are from Tamil Nadu.
"This is an extremely proud number," Rajaa said, adding, "the rest of India is not giving enough importance to our women."
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)
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