The alleged irregularities in book purchases for Periyar Arivulagam were flagged by noted author Perumal Murugan in a bombshell article. It has sparked a massive political storm in Tamil Nadu and a slugfest between Vijay's TVK and the DMK.

The alleged irregularities in book purchases for Periyar Arivulagam, a new public library in Tamil Nadu that was inaugurated by Chief Minister Vijay weeks ago, have snowballed into a massive controversy in the state. The latest to react is K Annamalai, who demanded an independent and thorough probe into the allegations by acclaimed Tamil writer Perumal Murugan and DMK-era records of the procurement process for books.The alleged irregularities were flagged by Murugan in a bombshell article published on the Tamil portal Sindhai.

Murugan said he found nearly 1,800 books purchased at exorbitant prices, with fictitious authors, questionable publishers, and AI content. He also pointed out dubious-sounding names of some authors who were previously unheard of - Vijaya Balu, Jothi Saravanan, Jothi Hariharan, Trisha Vijay, Thamarai Panneer, and Rani Panneer, according to a report in The News Minute.It has now set off a major slugfest between Vijay's ruling TVK and the DMK, with both sides blaming each other for the questionable purchases.The seven-storey library, built across seven acres at a cost of nearly Rs 300 crore in Coimbatore, was conceived and constructed during the previous DMK regime.

It was named after Periyar, the socialist icon considered the architect of Dravidian politics. The library was inaugurated by Vijay in a grand ceremony on October 16.

It had kicked off a credit war as the TVK did not acknowledge it as a DMK-era project. WHAT ANNAMALAI SAID ON PERIYAR LIBRARY ROW?The allegations by Murugan have sparked yet another controversy over the library.Annamalai, who is building a dedicated youth and Gen Z network through his 'We The Leaders' movement, claimed the irregularities amounted to a betrayal of future generations.

Calling the allegations shocking, Annamalai tweeted, "A library is not just a building. It is a valuable public asset that provides equal access to knowledge and opportunities for students who cannot afford to buy books and for lakhs of young people preparing for competitive exams such as the TNPSC""If public money has been misused, it is not merely financial misconduct but a betrayal of the educational and intellectual growth of the next generation," the former Tamil Nadu BJP chief said.Annamalai also demanded that documents related to the book procurement process, including purchase orders, invoices, delivery records and reports of the committees involved, be made public."What was the complete list of books recommended by the committee set up during the previous DMK government?

Were all the books on that list actually purchased? Who verified the books procured, their ISBNs, dates of purchase and dates of delivery to the library?" he further said.He sought an independent inquiry to probe whether the books were purchased at the appropriate prices, and whether all the books ordered were actually delivered to the library."If a library meant to spread knowledge has been turned into a hub of corruption, it is not merely a theft of public money but a theft of knowledge itself," Annamalai said.WHAT IS THE CONTROVERSY ALL ABOUT?The alleged irregularities were flagged by noted Perumal Murugan, writer and Sahitya Akademi winner, in his article on November 6.Murugan, in fact, was part of the book recommendation panel appointed by the previous DMK government for the proposed library.

In his article, the writer has not clarified whether the books under scrutiny were procured without the knowledge of the panel.In his article, Murugan claimed that most of the books kept at the library were from unfamiliar publishers.He cited nearly 1,800 books from a publisher called Agal Vilakku, which he said he had never heard of in his four decades of being involved with the literary world. Many are hardbound and carry price tags running into Rs 1,400 and more.One of Murugan's examples was 'Naladiyar Vaazhvin Vazhkatti' attributed to an author called Surya Balu.

Its price tag showed Rs 1,445. The book described Naladiyar as a Tamil poet and philosopher, Murugan said.

However, in reality, the work is a collection of verses attributed to Jain monks.Among other glaring errors highlighted by the author was a reference to a non-existent "Muthuvelu Subbaiah Iyer" as the first CM of Tamil Nadu in the book 'Tamil Nadu Oru Paarvai'.More than a hundred books were procured from Phoenix Publishers. Murugan alleged that some of the books were likely produced using AI and the ISBNs printed on them could not be verified.

He also flagged the absence of contact details of publishers in several books.ISBN, or International Standard Book Number, is a unique 13-digit identifier assigned to a specific book title.Murugan also found that books that were originally priced at Rs 250-300 carried tags above Rs 1,500.- Ends