Shortly after Governor R.N. Ravi walked out of the Assembly without delivering the customary address on Tuesday, the Lok Bhavan issued a press release detailing the reasons for his action.

A fact check of the claims in press release shows many reasons stated were wrong or the data was cherry-picked.

FDI inflows

The Lok Bhavan claimed that four years ago Tamil Nadu was the fourth largest recipient of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) but “today is struggling to remain at the sixth”. This is factually wrong. According to latest data from the Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade, for FY26, the FDI equity inflow to Tamil Nadu stood at $3.5 billion for the April to September period, the third highest among States. In FY22, Tamil Nadu ranked fourth and a year earlier it had ranked sixth.

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MSMEs in State

The press release said over 55 million Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) were registered in India, of which four million are in Tamil Nadu. These figures show discrepancies with the data in the Ministry of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises dashboard, which shows there are 75 million registered MSMEs in India, of which six million are in Tamil Nadu, the third highest among States.

Suicides

The Lok Bhavan said Tamil Nadu recorded 20,000 suicides in one year, “nowhere else in the country the situation is so alarming and Tamil Nadu is being referred to as the suicide capital of India”. According to the latest National Crime Records Bureau data, Maharashtra recorded more suicides than Tamil Nadu in 2023 — a trend consistent with previous years.

This raises questions as to why Tamil Nadu is labelled the “suicide capital” in the Lok Bhavan statement. Still, it is concerning that Tamil Nadu has ranked second in the number of suicides every year between 2013 and 2023 (irrespective of which party is in government).

Narcotics cases

As for drug use, data shows cases filed under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act in Tamil Nadu rose about 100% — from roughly 13,450 (2018-20) to 27,300 (2021-23). But, other States saw even sharper increases: cases in Assam rose by 260% and Telangana by 220%, while Kerala, Karnataka, Bihar, and Andhra Pradesh also saw spikes ranging from 125% to 180%.

Rape cases

A claim about the rise in POCSO Act rape cases is missing a clear time frame for comparison. The Supreme Court recently observed that the POCSO Act was weaponised by families to punish young people, which cast doubt on the higher numbers.

Crimes against Dalits

The release also claims atrocities against Dalits are sharply increasing. However, NCRB data shows that between 2018 and 2023, Tamil Nadu has consistently ranked between eighth and thirteenth in cases filed under the Prevention of Atrocities Act (data for SCs considered). Much like the trend seen with drug-related cases, this rise in reported incidents was observed in several other States as well.

(With inputs from Nivedha M.)

(Assistance for overcoming suicidal thoughts is available on the State’s health helpline 104, Tele-MANAS 14416 and Sneha’s suicide prevention helpline 044-24640050.)