CHENNAI: Shattering the six-decade-long electoral dominance of the DMK and AIADMK in Tamil Nadu, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam founder-president C Joseph Vijay on Sunday assumed office as the state’s chief minister, scripting a historic rise within just around two years of launching his party.
State Governor Rajendra Arlekar administered the oath of office and secrecy to Vijay and his nine-member cabinet in the presence of Congress leader and Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, whose party is now a coalition partner of the TVK.
The nine TVK MLAs-elect who were sworn in as ministers are N Anand, Aadhav Arjuna, K G Arunraj, K A Sengottaiyan, P Venkataramanan, C T R Nirmalkumar, Rajmohan, T K Prabhu and S Keerthana.
Immediately after being sworn in, the 51-year-old signed government orders to create a specialised police unit to improve women’s safety and to sanction 65 Anti-Narcotic Task Force (ANTF) stations across Tamil Nadu. He also greenlit the provision of 200 units of free electricity bi-monthly for all domestic consumers with consumption up to 500 units. This was a major poll promise of the TVK chief.
In his first speech as Chief Minister, Vijay said his government would soon release a white paper detailing the exact financial and administrative condition of Tamil Nadu.
“Only after entering office you realise the actual condition, what exists and what does not. I want this to be a transparent government. I want to openly tell you the situation of the government today and then take things forward from there,” he said.
Stating that the government had assumed office at a time when the state was burdened with debt of nearly Rs 10 lakh crore, Vijay requested people to give him time to implement his promises. “I will gradually try to fulfil what I promised, and I will fulfil them. Your patience and cooperation will help me greatly,” he said.
He also asserted that his government would take strict measures to ensure women’s safety and curb the drug menace in the state. “Likewise, I will ensure law and order and safety for everyone. Even those who insulted me or troubled me are still my people. Whether friends or enemies, all eight crore individuals are my people,” he said.
Vijay said that his government’s immediate focus would be on basic issues such as education, ration supplies, healthcare, drinking water, roads and bus facilities. Reiterating his earlier promise, he said he would not misuse public funds. “I will not commit mistakes, nor allow mistakes to happen. If anyone thinks, ‘we have won, let us misuse this power and play games’, erase that thought right now,” he warned.
Only one power centre under my leadership’
He further said women, youth, farmers, government employees, teachers, workers and fishermen would prosper under the TVK government. Taking an apparent dig at the previous DMK regime, which was often accused of having multiple power centres, Vijay said, “There will be only one centre here, under my leadership. There will not be one power centre here and another elsewhere.”
“As far as Tamil Nadu is concerned, I will never secretly meet anyone covering my face or hold covert discussions without your knowledge. Whatever I do, I will do openly and transparently without secrecy,” he added.
Addressing minorities, Vijay said his government would always stand by them and urged them not to have any doubts about this. “This face belongs equally to Hindus, Muslims and Christians. You can trust Vijay 100% on that,” he said.
Thanking the people for their support, Vijay recalled the hardships and criticism he had faced during his political journey.
“Those who stood by me also faced insults and difficulties. Yet, without taking any of that seriously, you stood beside me, sharing my pain and struggles. Today, you have made ‘C Joseph Vijay ennum naan’ a reality,” he said.
He also thanked the national and state unit leaders of the parties supporting him, including the Congress, CPI, CPM, VCK and IUML, all of whom had contested the polls as part of the DMK-led alliance.
(With inputs from Prabhakar Tamilarasu @ Chennai)