Praise for TVK, Criticism of DMK: Vembu’s Posts on TN School Spark Debate Over 'Inconsistent' Claims

A social media post by Zoho founder Sridhar Vembu, praising the new TVK government for granting speedy approval to his rural school in Tenkasi, has triggered a fresh controversy, with several netizens alleging that his claims are misleading.

In a post on X, Vembu said his rural school, Kalaivani Kalvi Maiyam, which provides completely free education to rural children, faced repeated delays in securing approvals during the DMK regime. He alleged that "significant money was demanded" and that it was implied this was the only way to move the file forward, despite the institution being a non-profit initiative.

Our rural school Kalaivani Kalvi Maiyam, which provides completely free education to rural children, faced delays getting approvals from the previous government. Of course, significant money was demanded and we were told that was the only way, even if it is a completely free…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) June 24, 2026

Vembu contrasted this with the situation after the TVK government came to power, saying approvals began to be cleared "quickly and automatically." He publicly thanked Chief Minister Vijay for what he described as a "refreshing change" in governance and said he was happy to acknowledge the improvement in the system.

However, the post soon drew criticism, with netizens questioning the accuracy of his claims and presenting what they describe as contradictory evidence.

One user argued that real reform must ensure equal efficiency for all applicants, not just high-profile insttutions, and asked how rural schools without public reach would secure similar attention.

Responding to the discussion, Vembu said he had followed the standard process during the DMK government's tenure but faced repeated delays and what he described as "demands." He added that approvals which were earlier pending were cleared after the change in government, and said he was hearing similar experiences from others as well.

We applied for approval during the previous government through the normal process. I never posted this on X or anywhere else. We endured the delays and "demands".

The approvals came through automatically after the new government came and I am thanking the government in public.…

— Sridhar Vembu (@svembu) June 24, 2026

However, the Software as a Service (SaaS) major founder's allegations also drew sharp pushback. Some users asked him to specify who allegedly demanded money instead of making general claims, while others questioned inconsistencies in the timeline, pointing out that the school had already been functioning earlier and suggesting that approval processes may not fully fall under state control.

One of the key points raised is that Kalaivani Kalvi Maiyam was already functioning in 2024, with Vembu himself having shared posts about the school's activities at the time. Critics argue that if the institution had been operational for nearly two years, the claim that approval was granted only after the new government took office does not align with the timeline. Netizens have also pointed out that the school is not affiliated with the Tamil Nadu State Board or Matriculation system but operates under the National Institute of Open Schooling (NIOS) framework, where recognition and approvals are handled by central authorities rather than the state government, further raising questions over the claims made in the post.

Sir, It seems the school based on the NIOS ( central government related) is already functioning for a few years now. Are you mentioning the same?

Is that functioning illegally until now or without your knowledge? pic.twitter.com/JTj58P3oz7

— Raghuraman (@ramanchennai1) June 24, 2026

வேம்பு சார் திமுக மீதுள்ள வெறுப்பில் தன் பள்ளிக்கு முந்தைய அரசு approval கொடுக்கல என்றும் இப்போது தவெக அரசு தான் அப்ரூவல் கொடுத்தது என்றும் ஒரு பதிவு போட்டு இருக்கார்

அவரே 2024 ஆம் ஆண்டு அந்த பள்ளி செயல்பட்டுட்டு இருக்குன்னு ஏற்கனவே பதிவு போட்டு இருக்கார் 🤭🤭🤭#தவெக அரசுக்கு… pic.twitter.com/cHnTfTgDlc

— Satheesh Kumar (@saysatheesh) June 24, 2026

Based on these points, critics have accused Vembu of omitting key context and presenting a selectively framed narrative that criticises the previous DMK government while praising the current TVK administration.

The controversy has since escalated into a wider online debate, with supporters defending Vembu's account as reflective of bureaucratic delays faced under the DMK regime, while critics maintain that the claims are unverified and selectively framed.

Vembu has not issued a detailed clarification addressing the specific counterclaims raised on social media so far.