Chennai: Tamil Nadu CM C. Joseph Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government marked its first 100 days in office Monday with a progress report on various measures promised in its election manifesto. The self-assessment was presented as a glossy advertisement titled “100 Days of Governance – A Government for Generations”.
With two issues, women’s safety and drug abuse, forming a large part of Vijay’s criticism of the previous DMK government, the TVK said it launched the Singappen Special Task Force, dedicated to ensuring safety of women, and set up 65 Anti-Narcotics Task Force units under its “Drug-Free Tamil Nadu” drive. The government also said it ordered closure of 717 TASMAC liquor outlets near educational institutions, places of worship, and bus stops.
It also said it is providing 12 lakh students and 1 lakh youth with training through the Vettri Skill Training Scheme. Moreover, the government said its Perunthalaivar Kamarajar breakfast scheme will be expanded to benefit an additional 15.14 lakh students from Classes 6-8 across 15,414 schools, with an allocation of Rs 710 crore.
The TVK-led government has also announced laptops for college students under the Vettri Laptop Scheme with Rs 2,000 crore earmarked for it, besides bicycles with helmets and water bottles for Class 11 students in government and government-aided schools.
Continuity was maintained on the Rs 1,000 monthly Magalir Urimai assistance for eligible women heads of households, with a proposed hike to Rs 2,500 under review.
Further, under the Thaimaaman Thanga Mothiram Scheme, every newborn delivered in a government hospital to families permanently residing in Tamil Nadu is to receive a one-gram gold ring. And for women, the Annan’s Seer Scheme will provide eligible brides with an eight-gram gold coin and a silk saree at the time of their wedding.
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Under fire from Opposition
The Opposition, led by Udhayanidhi Stalin of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), has zeroed in on what it calls law-and-order lapses, diluted promises, administrative style, and the manner in which the minority government secured its numbers.
Accusing CM Vijay of lacking a genuine independent agenda, the DMK accused his government of merely rebranding several long-running DMK welfare schemes.
The DMK’s flagship free bus travel scheme for women, Magalir Vidiyal Payanam, was renamed Magalir Payanam by simply dropping the word “Vidiyal” (dawn), a term closely associated with the DMK’s political branding, while the benefits remained unchanged.
The skill development programme launched by former chief minister M.K. Stalin, Naan Mudhalvan, was renamed the Vettri Skill Training Scheme.
Housing schemes such as Kalaignar Kanavu Illam were relaunched as the Vettri Veedu or Vettri Housing Scheme with higher allocations. The free livestock distribution programme returned as the Vettri Magalir Goat Rearing Scheme, and other initiatives, including laptop distribution and library programmes, received the “Vettri” prefix.
Opposition leaders, including Udhayanidhi Stalin and the AIADMK’s Edappadi K. Palaniswami, dismissed these changes as mere cosmetic “stickers” on existing schemes, arguing that the government had promised transformative change but was largely continuing the previous regime’s blueprint under new names.
Addressing a DMK meeting Sunday, Udhayanidhi Stalin accused the TVK of bringing no change as promised: “They have only changed the names of every scheme brought by our leader and have stuck stickers on them. There is no other change.”
Political analyst Arun Kumar told ThePrint that the TVK-led government had to an extent rebranded the DMK’s schemes, adding that “there is a huge gap in the implementation of welfare schemes and what was announced by the government”.
“The government also promised generation of employment, but the recruitment is not happening, and even the Teachers Recruitment Board (TRB) exam is in court,” he said.
Adding, “The vacant posts in many universities were promised to be filled soon, but no such attempts have been made. The allocation to the education department has been reduced, so these need to be improved.”
On its part, the Vijay-led government in Tamil Nadu said it had reduced corruption in revenue collection. It said it had cancelled tenders worth over Rs 400 crore issued by the Greater Chennai Corporation (GCC), highways and electricity departments amid corruption allegations. It also said it had issued instructions against “commission” systems in contracts, and directed district collectors and police to act without fear or favour.
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Law & order
Law and order continues to emerge as one of the biggest challenges for the TVK-led government.
Speaking in the Assembly, Leader of the Opposition Udhayanidhi Stalin asked Monday if the government had taken any action after a controversial video surfaced of TVK Minister D. Sarathkumar in which he was seen crushing a white substance during an IPL match.
Sarathkumar later claimed he was crushing an antibiotic for his child on a mobile phone.
During his speech, Udhayanidhi also mentioned two killings which he said were linked to drug abuse.
“In Coimbatore, a 19-year-old Amudhan was brutally killed, and he belongs to the SC community. The main reason behind Amudhan’s death is drugs since his parents said that Amudhan was killed because he gave a tip-off about the drug menace,” he said. Adding, “Similarly, in Chennai, Dhanush, a Class XII student, was brutally hacked because he gave a tip-off. The government said they are against drugs, but murders are happening.”
Udhayanidhi highlighted that similar incidents have been reported in Kancheepuram, Tiruppur, Chennai and several other districts. “Where is the law and order minister? Is he there? Why is he refusing to answer?” the DMK leader said.
Farmers’ welfare
On farmers’ welfare, policies highlighted by the Tamil Nadu government have been met with criticism from farmers’ bodies over alleged delays and what they termed an inadequate response to the Cauvery water dispute, besides the diluted crop-loan waiver, and the continuing threat of Karnataka’s Mekedatu project.
Delta farmers, already hit by the postponed opening of the Mettur dam and the near-total loss of the Kuruvai season (paddy cultivation season) due to insufficient water releases from Karnataka, have accused the government of slow and insufficient action in ensuring timely water releases through the Cauvery Water Management Authority and the courts.
Although Vijay met the Prime Minister in May, and wrote detailed letters opposing Mekedatu, no concrete action has been taken.
Moreover, the partial crop-loan waiver, initially limited and later expanded to full relief only up to Rs 75,000 for cooperative loans, with a fixed Rs 35,000 for larger loans, is being termed a clear dilution of the manifesto promise of a complete waiver for farmers with holdings under five acres and 50 percent for farmers with larger holdings.
This has also led to repeated protests in the delta districts where farmers demanded full write-off in view of the failed Kuruvai crop.
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Communication style
Chief Minister Vijay has also come under criticism for his communication style. His long-standing preference for controlled communication, with no formal press conferences, limited unscripted interactions, and dependence on official statements or social-media posts has become a governance practice. While Vijay avoided direct media interaction even during the election campaign, he has stuck to the approach since assuming office.
“The people of Tamil Nadu have voted for the face of Vijay, and his silence on major state rights is questionable. We do not know what the position of the government is unless the chief minister openly talks about it and expresses their stance. Custodial deaths, women’s safety issues and law and crime continue. So there is no major change from what they said the DMK government was,” Arun Kumar told ThePrint.
Beyond media and press interaction, Vijay’s comments on critical issues have also led to Udhayanidhi and other DMK leaders repeatedly questioning him. The Opposition remarked that a leader who delivered “dialogues” before the elections remains tight-lipped after assuming office. However, political allies such as the VCK’s Thol Thirumavalavan have defended the first-time chief minister’s approach as “talk less, work more”.
Controversies and allegations
The TVK won 108 seats in Tamil Nadu’s 234-member House, short of a majority, and initially secured support from the Congress, VCK, IUML and Left. During the 13 May confidence vote, nearly 25 AIADMK MLAs defied the party whip and backed the government.
Several later resigned—including Maragatham Kumaravel, P. Sathyabama, S. Jayakumar and Esakki Subaya—and joined the TVK, triggering anti-defection proceedings and complaints to the Governor. The AIADMK had labelled its leaders joining the TVK as “horse-trading at horse-speed”. The Madras HC subsequently dismissed a PIL seeking a CBI probe into the resignations by AIADMK leaders for lack of specific evidence.
However, the TVK later alleged that DMK functionaries had offered MLAs Rs 10-50 crore each to switch sides. The allegations led to the arrest of three people in connection with one such claim involving a TVK MLA. The investigation is ongoing in the case.
Moreover, the appointment of Vijay’s astrologer, Rickey Radhan Pandit Vetrivel, as Officer on Special Duty (Political) was swiftly revoked amid criticism of inexperience and poor vetting. Many other such appointments of Vijay’s close associates in administrative positions have been questioned. They include Bengaluru-based businessman K. Venkata Narayana, who produced Vijay’s film Jana Nayagan, being appointed as the government’s Special Representative in Delhi; and Archana Kalpathi, who produced GOAT and Bigil, being appointed as part of a seven-member reconstituted panel under the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments (HR&CE) Department.
The decision to offer government jobs to the kin of the 41 victims of the September 2025 Karur stampede at a TVK rally was struck down by the Madras HC in July but later stayed by the Supreme Court.
In recent weeks, Udhayanidhi Stalin’s arrest and subsequent bail over remarks linked to actor Trisha during a farmers’ protest escalated into a major political confrontation.
Vijay’s remarks in the Assembly about Udhayanidhi resembling a “child looking for his father”, which were interpreted as a dig at M.K. Stalin’s absence, also became controversial.
His gesture of “everything finished”, similar to Stalin’s viral alliance signal and later featured in Jana Nayagan, was also seen as a jibe at the DMK chief and former chief minister.
(Edited by Sugita Katyal)
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