The Tamil Nadu School Education Minister A. Rajmohan once again raised allegations on Saturday that irregularities occurred during the procurement of books for the Periyar Arivulagam and other state libraries while the previous DMK party was in power. He termed it the 'first AI scandal in India.'
The opposition DMK party categorically rejected these accusations and demanded that the government disclose documents related to the book purchases. At a press conference on Saturday, Minister A. Rajmohan stated that the previous DMK government used artificial intelligence to create low-quality and offensive content books. These books featured names of fictional authors such as 'Tamara Murilli,' 'Kamalaambal Karunanidhi,' and 'Trisha Vijay.'
The minister claimed that an order for thousands of books was placed with a single publisher, 'Agal Vilku Pattippagam,' on February 14th, requiring delivery within seven days. He also stated that payment for these books was made from the state treasury in March, before the elections. The minister emphasized that the book content was entirely machine-generated. He cited the classic work 'Naldiyar' as an example, where a person was described as a philosopher.
He demanded that the DMK publicly apologize to the students of Tamil Nadu and civil service candidates. The state government has officially filed a complaint. The minister announced that a special committee would be formed to investigate such library procurements, including those at Kumararaja, Anna, and Kalagnar Shattadi Libraries.
DMK leader I. Parntamen refuted the allegations, calling them a 'false story' created to cover up administrative failures of Chief Minister Joseph Vijay's government. He questioned why the government did not immediately order the removal of the books from the libraries if they were indeed low quality or contained errors.
Parntamen urged the government to publish official documents instead of running a social media campaign. He demanded the disclosure of bank transaction data, order dates, and precise recommendations from expert committees. The DMK leader noted that his party's government implemented a transparent online procurement policy through expert committees in 2024.
Parntamen also pointed out that the printing of the controversial books took place in June 2026, after the DMK's term had expired. He added that there were no issues with books purchased in March during his party's tenure. Regarding the allegations of fictional authors, Parntamen asked why his party approved books by authors like 'Trisha Vijay' or 'Singita Vijay.' He stated that the DMK is an intellectual movement and does not engage in such policies. This dispute first arose due to author Perumal Murugan, who was part of the 137-member book selection committee. The government labeled him the one who exposed the scandal, whereas the DMK asserts that committee members like Murugan were also unaware of these fictional books. The party demanded a transparent investigation to identify the real culprits.
