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India's first AI scam: TVK minister jabs DMK over multi-crore Periyar library fraud

Tamil Nadu minister A Rajmohan accused the previous DMK government of irregularities in public library book procurement. The allegations over pricing, authenticity and AI-generated content have intensified the political confrontation between TVK and the DMK. Tamil Nadu School Education Minister A Rajmohan on Saturday accused the previous DMK government of using Artificial Intelligence (AI) to generate poor-quality books and carry out large-scale corruption in the procurement of books for the Periyar Ariv

Truvace record3 min read1 sourceEvidence: Emerging · 42/100 — News report · 1 independent sourceJournalismTRV-2026-2433 · cite or check it
India's first AI scam: TVK minister jabs DMK over multi-crore Periyar library fraud

In brief

Tamil Nadu School Education Minister A Rajmohan said on Saturday that the previous DMK government used AI to generate poor-quality books and bought them for the Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore. He called it "India's first AI scam" and said thousands of books came from one publisher, Agal Vilakku Pathippagam, under invented author names such as 'Thamarai Murali', 'Kamalambal Karunanidhi' and 'Trisha Vijay'.

The claims are allegations, not findings. The DMK calls them a "fake narrative" and says some disputed books carried library stamps from June 2026, after its government left office. The state has filed a complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption and plans a special committee to review purchases at other libraries.

The row matters because of its scale. The seven-storey library cost nearly Rs 300 crore, and Rajmohan said similar purchases were planned for libraries in Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Cuddalore and Tirunelveli, at Rs 50 crore for books and Rs 5 crore for online books.

Main points

  1. Writer Perumal Murugan, a member of the 137-member recommendation committee, raised the issue in an article on November 6, questioning the purchase of nearly 1,800 books from Agal Vilakku, a publisher he did not know.
  2. Rajmohan said a purchase order was issued on February 14, 2026, with delivery due within seven days, and that payments were released from the treasury in March, before the elections.
  3. Murugan said books normally priced at about Rs 250 to Rs 300 were sold to the library for more than Rs 1,500, and one title, Naladiyar Vaazhvin Vazhikaatu, was priced at Rs 1,445.
  4. Examples of errors cited include a book describing Naladiyar as an individual philosopher rather than verses attributed to Jain monks, and one naming a non-existent Muthuvelu Subbaiah Iyer as the state's first Chief Minister.
  5. Murugan also questioned books from Phoenix Publishers that appeared AI-generated and carried ISBN numbers that could not be verified.
  6. The DMK says a 2024 Government Order set up online procurement with expert panels, and it challenged the government to publish purchase records, including bank transactions and order dates.
  7. BJP's K Annamalai demanded an independent probe, and Congress's Manickam Tagore called for an audit of books bought by libraries across Tamil Nadu.

The problem

Tamil Nadu's school education minister alleged that thousands of AI-generated books with fabricated authors and factual errors were bought from one publisher for the Periyar library, a claim the DMK rejects.

The full story

Rajmohan, speaking at a press conference in Chennai, displayed a copy of the purchase order and said more than 40 boxes of books reached the Periyar library. Because Chief Minister Joseph Vijay was due to inaugurate it, he said, the books were placed on shelves and sealed. Vijay opened the library on October 16.

He said a committee met in November last year and again in January, when 112 of 137 members approved the purchases, which he claimed happened under pressure from the DMK government. The government has asked the vigilance directorate to investigate and will examine the Kamarajar, Anna and Kalaignar Centenary libraries.

The DMK's I Paranthamen asked why the government had not pulled the disputed books from shelves, accused the minister of seeking political mileage, and said committee members including Murugan did not know of the disputed titles. He also questioned why his party would approve books attributed to names like 'Trisha Vijay'. Kamal Haasan, TTV Dhinakaran, Anbumani Ramadoss and Seeman have also sought investigations.

Sources

  1. JournalismIndia Today2026-11-08

The debate