Century up, celebrations over, Vijay is already back at the crease. The Tamil Nadu CM’s days after completing 100 days have been a whirlwind of announcements, political sparring and one particularly swift U-turn.
The government also announced a major change to maternity leave for women government employees. “I will reveal the corruption files from the previous DMK regime at an appropriate time. I have two files on my desk.
Vijay also announced that all MLAs would get government vehicles and a ₹ 1 lakh monthly package, comprising ₹ 75,000 towards fuel, maintenance and driver expenses and ₹ 25,000 for an assistant for office work.
From raising Aavin’s milk procurement price and expanding maternity leave to announcing vehicles and allowances for MLAs and threatening to open “corruption files” against the previous DMK government, Vijay’s post-century phase has been anything but quiet. The government said the move was intended to help legislators travel through their constituencies and take up development work. Don’t force me to do it now,” he said. The warning came after public works minister Aadhav Arjuna said the government would soon release a detailed White Paper, signalling that the TVK government’s battle with its predecessor could become a defining feature of the next phase of its tenure.
The description fits neatly with the government’s attempt to present Vijay as a hands-on administrator rather than simply an actor-turned-politician occupying the chief minister’s chair. The government subsequently announced a ₹ 6,220-crore cooperative farm-loan waiver, expanded the school breakfast programme, allocated funds for laptops for college students and rolled out welfare measures for women and newborns. It also announced the closure of 717 TASMAC liquor shops located near educational institutions, places of worship and transport points.
Vijay spends much of his time at the Secretariat, asking what needs to be done next and looking for problems across departments, particularly corruption and financial leakages, according to Arjuna.
