CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu chief minister C Joseph Vijay on Friday accused the previous DMK govt of corruption in procuring books for the Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore, alleging that substandard books were recommended and purchased using public money.In a statement posted on the TVK’s official X handle, Vijay cited writer and professor Perumal Murugan, who was part of the committee constituted to recommend books on modern literature and literary criticism for new libraries, including Periyar Arivulagam. The previous DMK govt issued an order constituting the committee on Nov 5, 2025.Vijay said Perumal Murugan had brought the alleged irregularities in book procurement to light and questioned how a library built for students and future generations could become the centre of a procurement scam. He accused the DMK of misusing institutions named after social reformer Periyar to further corruption.He referred to alleged irregularities in the municipal administration department, TASMAC, tender allocations and school education department, accusing the previous govt of allowing corruption across departments.Questioning the use of public money for the library’s book purchases, Vijay said the alleged scam had exposed the contradiction between the DMK’s claims of safeguarding Tamil language and culture and its handling of public institutions.He said the people, particularly the younger generation, would not forgive the DMK for corruption involving public funds.Meanwhile, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam on Friday demanded that the TVK govt constitute a special investigation team (SIT) to probe the alleged scam in procuring books for the Periyar Arivulagam. He urged the govt to constitute a panel of Tamil scholars to scrutinise the library’s collection and weed out fake and substandard books.Expressing shock over writer Perumal Murugan’s allegations, backed by evidence, that a large-scale scam had taken place in procuring books for the newly inaugurated library, built at a cost of Rs 300 crore, Shanmugam said established rules and procedures for library book purchases appeared to have been violated, resulting in the misuse of public money.
