Tamil Nadu minister alleges India's first AI scam in library book procurement
School Education Minister A Rajmohan accused the previous DMK government of using artificial intelligence to create low-quality books for public libraries.
Tamil Nadu School Education Minister A Rajmohan on Saturday accused the previous DMK government of orchestrating a massive corruption scheme involving artificial intelligence to produce poor-quality books. Speaking at a press conference in Chennai, Rajmohan termed the matter "India's first AI scam," alleging that the previous regime used AI to generate books with fabricated author names for the Periyar Arivulagam library in Coimbatore.
The minister claimed that thousands of books containing objectionable content and errors were purchased from a single publisher, Agal Vilakku Pathippagam. He cited an example where the classical Tamil work Naaladiyar was incorrectly described as an individual philosopher rather than a collection of verses. Rajmohan alleged that a purchase order was issued on February 14, 2026, with payments released from the state treasury in March, prior to the elections.
According to India Today, Rajmohan stated the irregularities are not limited to Coimbatore, as similar procurement plans involving Rs 50 crore for books and Rs 5 crore for e-books were intended for libraries in Tiruchirappalli, Salem, Cuddalore, and Tirunelveli. He alleged that committee approvals for these purchases were obtained under pressure from the DMK administration.
The state government has filed a formal complaint with the Directorate of Vigilance and Anti-Corruption (DVAC). Rajmohan also announced that a special committee will be established to investigate similar book acquisitions at the Kamarajar, Anna, and Kalaignar Centenary libraries.
DMK leader I Paranthamen rejected the claims, calling them a "fake narrative" designed to hide administrative failures. Paranthamen questioned why the current government had not simply removed the books from shelves if they were faulty. He also noted that some disputed books bore library stamps from June 2026, which occurred after the DMK's term ended.