Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin has completed 100 days in office, ticking some right boxes, with his proverbial political honeymoon even peppered with some praise from the opposition.
Stalin assumed office on 7 May, after his DMK-led coalition stormed to power winning 159 of the 234 seats in the state. He completed 100 days on 20 August.
The chief minister had to hit the ground running as shortly after he took office, an aggressive second Covid wave hit Tamil Nadu.
From surprise inspections, 12 am phone calls, sending MLAs and ministers to their constituencies to even roping in the health minister of the previous AIADMK government, the chief minister took a number of steps that earned him praise.
Once the Covid situation stabilised, his government also rolled out a number of schemes and policy initiatives.
The first 100 days of the DMK government have seen free bus rides for women, persons with disabilities and transpersons; appointment of non-Brahmin priests to conduct prayers in temples, archanais (prayers) in Tamil as well as Sanskrit; a 7.5 per cent quota for government school students in professional courses; and a separate budget for agriculture, among others.
On the economy front, the DMK-led government held a summit and inked MoUs for investment worth Rs 17,000 crore. It has also formed an Economic Advisory Council that includes Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo, former RBI Governor Raghuram Rajan, former chief economic advisor to the union government Arvind Subramanian, development economist Prof Jean Dreze and former Union Finance Secretary S. Narayan.
“There is a world of a difference between the Stalin people thought he would be, and the Stalin that he is as CM,” said Aspire Swaminathan, the former IT Wing head of the opposition AIADMK.
The government is also making the right noises.
Willing to take the blame along with the accolades, Finance Minister P. Thiaga Rajan openly said that the buck stops with the political leadership in the state and not the civil servants.
“We want Tamil Nadu to be one of the best states in South Asia. Our government’s target is to make Tamil Nadu a trillion dollar economy,” Stalin said at the investors conclave.
Many of the schemes, such as allowing priests of all castes, are also rooted in the history of the Dravidian movement that the DMK constantly invokes. So are the initiatives such as the free bus rides for women.
Thiaga Rajan told ThePrint, in an earlier interview, that the state did not want the kind of growth that separates billionaires from poor people.
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‘Inclusive style of politics’
Named after Soviet leader Joseph Stalin, the Tamil Nadu chief minister is no stranger to the world of politics.
Stalin was a student leader during the time of Emergency, has been the mayor of Chennai and also the deputy CM when his father Karunanidhi was the chief minister.
The chief minister once had a reputation for thuggishness, but there is now a consensus across the board that whether it is officials, party leaders and even the opposition, he has adopted an “inclusive style” of working.
Associate Professor of Political Science at Chennai’s Presidency College, P. Muthukumar, said there is a maturity about Stalin that was not visible earlier.
Muthukumar said that Stalin has done some things unprecedented for a Tamil Nadu chief minister, such as sitting at a table with former deputy CM and AIADMK leader O. Panneerselvam, and including former health minister Vijayabaskar in the multi-party Covid panel.
“Such a culture was not there during Jayalalithaa, Karunanidhi or even MGR. This culture was missing and dates back to the time of Annadurai,” Muthukumar said. “This shows Stalin’s maturity as a CM, which will immensely benefit the people of Tamil Nadu.”
Senior civil servant in the state, G. Prakash said Stalin works in a calculated manner.
“This time as the chief minister, he has a grand vision in mind and has set up an elaborate system listening to various stakeholders — ranging from the common man to subject matter specialists. As a bureaucrat myself, I know he has always worked well with officials,” Prakash said.
DMK MLA Karthikeyan Sivasenapathy said the chief minister no longer looks at himself as the leader of just a party but as the leader of the state. “He is working in a manner to include everyone, even those who did not vote for him to ensure they do so the next time,” he said.
“During campaigning, at the end of each day, without fail I would get a call from Thalaivar to ask about campaigning and how my day was,” he added. “After he has become CM, he gives the same time and attention despite his workload. I met him recently regarding the renaming of a university in my constituency and he gave all stakeholders a fair and patient hearing.”
One of the hallmarks of this new government and Stalin’s style of governance is religious tolerance and secularism, said a leader in the chief minister’s team.
Echoing this, the Minister of Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, P. Sekar Babu, explained that implementing the all-caste archaka system was among Stalin’s top priorities.
“Both the Tamil archanais and all-caste archaka system has been in the pipeline for a long time. And was the main priority,” Babu explained. “It is not about favouring one language over another or one caste above the other. But to ensure an equal and inclusive society.”
Not everyone, however, is enthused.
Senior AIADMK leader and former cabinet minister D. Jayakumar believes that Stalin is nothing like his father Karunanidhi and is only working on the instructions of his council of ministers or officials.
“He has no mind power of his own; he is not dynamic like Kalaignar,” Jayakumar said. “He only listens to the advice of his council of ministers or officials.”
Senior BJP leader in the state, J. Johnson said the DMK has not lived up to any of its promises.
“There are only photos of the family — Karunanidhi, Stalin and Udhayanidhi — everywhere. Where is the Rs 1,000 they promised to female heads of households? They are now making excuses that the previous AIADMK government left them with no money,” Johnson said.
‘No to yes men’
While the opposition has flayed the chief minister for his style of governance, his delegation of work has also earned him praise.
“Normally any government that takes over fills important positions with yes ministers and officials, but all the bureaucrats appointed by Stalin have an impeccable track record,” Swaminathan, the former AIADMK IT wing head, said.
Swaminathan said Stalin has handpicked civil servants who can deliver and has chosen people based on their track record.
(Edited by Arun Prashanth)
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