CHENNAI: Terming the fake books procurement for Periyar Arivulagam as India's first AI scam, School Education Minister Rajmohan on Friday said the books in question had also been procured by other institutions, including the Connemara Public Library in Chennai and the Kalaignar Centenary Library in Madurai.

Accusing the previous DMK government of orchestrating a multi-crore scam involving the procurement of AI-generated and fake books for public libraries across Tamil Nadu, Rajmohan said, “The scam has unfolded in district libraries located in Cuddalore, Tirunelveli and Tiruchy. This is an AI scam done by the DMK, which the TVK government will thoroughly investigate.”

Rajmohan said a special committee would be constituted to examine the books purchased for government libraries.

He alleged that the books were purchased as works by fictitious authors and demanded an unconditional apology from the DMK to students, readers and the literary community.

Addressing reporters at Anna Centenary Library, Rajmohan alleged that the procurement involved more than 2,000 titles from Agal Vilakku Publications for the Periyar Knowledge Centre in Coimbatore alone. He claimed that the government had issued a purchase order on February 14, 2026, directing the publisher to supply the books within seven days.

Displaying the copies of the purchase order, emails and committee records, he said the books had been delivered in more than 40 cartons and were subsequently arranged on library shelves. The books were stamped with June dates when they were catalogued, which, he said, was being misrepresented by the DMK as evidence that the procurement had taken place under the present government.

"The purchase order was issued on February 14 and the payment was released from the government treasury on March 14, during the DMK regime. The books were arranged on the shelves only after the election process. The date on which the books were stamped cannot be treated as the date of procurement," he said.

The minister said his department had lodged a complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC), seeking a detailed investigation. He alleged that the case would attract provisions of the Prevention of Corruption Act and that all those involved, including publishers, political functionaries and officials, would be brought under the ambit of the investigation if evidence established their complicity.

He also urged Public Works Department Minister Aadhav Arjuna to examine the construction quality of the large library complexes, alleging that irregularities in book procurement warranted scrutiny of building expenditure as well.

The allegations followed a report by noted Tamil writer Perumal Murugan, who highlighted several books containing factual inaccuracies, questionable historical references and unusually high prices.

Murugan had also questioned the authenticity of authors' identities and ISBN numbers printed on the publications. Several books reportedly carried price tags exceeding Rs 1,000, considerably higher than comparable titles.

Minister claimed that Rs 50 crore had been earmarked for each of these libraries and alleged that the procurement of printed books and e-books, for which another Rs 5 crore had been planned, pointed to a larger scam involving public funds.

Referring to the selection process, the minister said a committee comprising 137 members had been constituted, of whom 112 participated in the deliberations. A higher-level committee had subsequently approved the list of books recommended for procurement.

He alleged that the committees had been influenced to clear questionable titles and that the scale of the procurement could not have been possible without political interference. He said the role of committee members and officials would also be examined.

Rajmohan further said the government would examine the procurement of books from more than 20 publishers and investigate possible links between publishers and political functionaries of the previous regime.

The minister named several authors whose identities he said were questionable. They included Kamalambal Karunanidhi, Pavithra Karunanidhi, Thamarai Murali, Thamarai Ravi, Thamarai Panneer, Monica Ravi, Aishwarya, Jyothi Haraharan and Lakshmi Mohan. He alleged that artificial intelligence had been used to generate books under fictitious names and that the practice involved appropriating the names of established writers and public figures.

Citing examples from the disputed titles, he questioned the quality and credibility of the content, including a book that allegedly described Naladiyar as a philosopher and contained questionable descriptions. He also alleged that names associated with political leaders had been used in the titles and authorship of certain books.

Responding to questions about the involvement of eminent writers in the book selection committee, including Perumal Murugan, Rajmohan said the writer had been involved in recommending books in specific categories, including modern literature and literary criticism. He claimed that the disputed titles belonged to other categories and had not been recommended by Perumal Murugan.

The minister said he had personally contacted Perumal Murugan and thanked him for bringing the issue to light. He described the writer as a whistleblower whose observations had prompted a wider examination of the procurement process.