CHENNAI: Tamil Nadu Deputy Chief Minister Udhayanidhi Stalin on Thursday hit out at AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami for questioning the state’s free laptop scheme, accusing him of trying to undermine a programme meant to benefit college students.
Referring to Palaniswami’s remarks a day earlier on the timing of the distribution, Udhayanidhi said the Opposition leader had suddenly projected himself as a "computer expert" only to raise doubts over the scheme.
"I thought so far that Palaniswami was only a Tamil scholar who had read and understood 'Kamba Ramayanam'. He is not just a Tamil scholar, I have now realised he is also a great computer expert," he said sarcastically.
He added that Palaniswami was "trying in every way to somehow derail this scheme. His intention will never succeed."
The Deputy Chief Minister said the plan to supply laptops to 20 lakh college students was clearly set out in the 2025-26 Budget and was not an ad hoc election-time announcement.
Committees comprising experts from Anna University, National Informatics Centre, IIT-Madras and state higher education institutions had finalised high-configuration laptops suitable for Artificial Intelligence applications, with advanced processors and long battery life, he noted.
Udhayanidhi said ELCOT had entered into an agreement with Microsoft to provide Windows 11 and signed a special agreement with US-based Perplexity AI to offer six months of Perplexity Pro AI access free of cost to college students.
Targeting distribution to 10 lakh students by February, the Deputy CM said the DMK’s "Dravidian model" government would ensure the laptops reached students once they returned from Christmas and New Year holidays.
Palaniswami on Wednesday accused the DMK government of "reviving" the free laptop scheme for students merely to woo voters ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.
He also alleged that the delay deprived poor families of timely benefits.