Century up, celebrations over, Vijay is already again on the crease. The Tamil Nadu CM’s days after finishing 100 days have been a whirlwind of bulletins, political sparring and one significantly swift U-turn.
From elevating Aavin’s milk procurement value and increasing maternity depart to saying autos and allowances for MLAs and threatening to open “corruption recordsdata” in opposition to the earlier DMK authorities, Vijay’s post-century section has been something however quiet.
If his first 100 days had been about establishing the brand new TVK authorities, the times instantly after have supplied a glimpse of a extra assertive Vijay, prepared to spend, reverse course and draw political battle traces.
A flurry of choices after the century
One of many largest bursts of bulletins got here within the Meeting, the place Vijay unveiled measures masking milk producers, legislators, healthcare and ladies authorities staff.
The federal government raised Aavin’s milk procurement value from ₹38 to ₹41 per litre, benefiting greater than 3.16 lakh milk producers. The transfer will value the state an extra ₹30 crore a month.
Vijay additionally introduced that every one MLAs would get authorities autos and a ₹1 lakh month-to-month bundle, comprising ₹75,000 in direction of gas, upkeep and driver bills and ₹25,000 for an assistant for workplace work. The federal government stated the transfer was supposed to assist legislators journey by way of their constituencies and take up improvement work.
The choice has already triggered criticism from the DMK, which argued that MLAs who already personal autos must be excluded from the scheme.
Alongside the political and administrative bulletins got here a major growth of healthcare cowl. The state’s chief minister’s Complete Well being Insurance coverage Scheme was expanded from ₹5 lakh to ₹25 lakh a 12 months.
One 12 months of maternity depart for a 3rd youngster
The federal government additionally introduced a significant change to maternity depart for girls authorities staff.
The maternity depart obtainable for a 3rd youngster might be elevated from 12 weeks to 12 months. Till now, ladies authorities staff with fewer than two kids had been eligible for one 12 months of maternity depart, whereas these with two or extra kids may stand up to 12 weeks.
The choice places ladies’s welfare and empowerment alongside the federal government’s current welfare bulletins and marks one other growth of advantages below the brand new administration.
From order to U-turn in minutes
The hectic tempo was additionally accompanied by an administrative embarrassment. Tamil Nadu’s Faculty Training Division issued an order asking officers to take coordinated motion to stop college students and youth from authorities arts and science schools from becoming a member of protests organised by Left events and the Tamil Nadu Cockroach Janata Celebration.
The directive described the matter as “very pressing” and requested officers to coordinate with different departments and district administrations.
Then got here the reversal.
The order was withdrawn inside minutes, with the division rolling again its communication to school principals.
Vijay flashes the corruption recordsdata
If the student-protest order produced a fast retreat, Vijay’s confrontation with the DMK went in the other way.
The Meeting witnessed heated exchanges over alleged irregularities in a ₹5.54-crore tender linked to the proposed relocation of the chief minister’s workplace. The difficulty was adopted by one other conflict over alleged discrepancies in road-laying works.
Vijay responded with a warning that he had recordsdata regarding alleged corruption throughout the earlier DMK regime.
“I’ll reveal the corruption recordsdata from the earlier DMK regime at an acceptable time. I’ve two recordsdata on my desk. Do not power me to do it now,” he stated.
The warning got here after public works minister Aadhav Arjuna stated the federal government would quickly launch an in depth White Paper, signalling that the TVK authorities’s battle with its predecessor may turn into a defining function of the subsequent section of its tenure.
A 4am CM?
The frantic tempo of presidency enterprise has additionally fed into the picture Vijay’s ministers are constructing round him.
Aadhav Arjuna has described Vijay as a “political monk”, saying the chief minister works for 18 to twenty hours a day and may start calling ministers at 4am for updates on their departments.
In keeping with Arjuna, Vijay spends a lot of his time on the Secretariat, asking what must be executed subsequent and in search of issues throughout departments, significantly corruption and monetary leakages.
The outline matches neatly with the federal government’s try to current Vijay as a hands-on administrator quite than merely an actor-turned-politician occupying the chief minister’s chair.
The primary 100 days: Welfare, guarantees and loads of questions
Vijay’s first 100 days had been dominated by a considerable welfare push. On his first day in workplace, he signed orders for 200 models of free electrical energy for eligible households, a devoted ladies’s security power and anti-narcotics job forces.
The federal government subsequently introduced a ₹6,220-crore cooperative farm-loan waiver, expanded the college breakfast programme, allotted funds for laptops for faculty college students and rolled out welfare measures for girls and newborns. It additionally introduced the closure of 717 TASMAC liquor outlets positioned close to academic establishments, locations of worship and transport factors.
However the first century was not with out turbulence. The federal government confronted questions over the implementation of election guarantees, the Cauvery water dispute, regulation and order, the state’s funds and allegations of corruption. The opposition additionally accused Vijay’s authorities of placing its “stickers” on schemes launched by the earlier DMK administration.
The Karur stampede case, which dates to a TVK rally addressed by Vijay earlier than he grew to become chief minister, remained one other main problem. Political clashes with the DMK additionally intensified, together with over the Udhayanidhi Stalin-Trisha controversy.
The federal government’s 100-day report, “100 Days of Governance – A Authorities for Generations”, introduced the interval as considered one of welfare growth and administrative change. However the challenges going through the federal government counsel that the subsequent section might be judged much less by the variety of bulletins and extra by their implementation, funds and political penalties.
