Published Nov 08, 2026 | 9:30 AM ⚊ Updated Nov 08, 2026 | 9:30 AM
Vijay entered politics promising an alternative to established political parties. That promise carries obligations beyond electoral popularity.
When C Joseph Vijay took office as Chief Minister in May, he promised change.
Six months on, his government faces questions over rising prices, weak GST collection growth, failures in prison security and the handling of criminal investigations. Importantly, its response to political criticism has raised another concern: whether the police are being allowed to act with the independence and restraint expected of a public institution.
Consider what happened to A Kalaiyarasan, an economist at the Madras Institute of Development Studies, co-author of a book on the Dravidian model and a former contributor to the state’s economic survey.
On October 28, plainclothes policemen arrived at his residence around 5 am, questioned him and forced him into their jeep over an abusive Instagram comment targeting a TVK MLA. This despite Kalaiyarasan having denied that he owned the account. It subsequently emerged that a fake profile had used his photograph. He was brought back home at around 7.45 am.
The government’s defence is that the incident had nothing to do with Kalaiyarasan’s public criticism of rising prices. The Chief Minister met him at the Secretariat, and a minister acknowledged a police lapse. These gestures were welcome, but they do not address the central problem. Why did the police take a citizen away in the early hours before establishing whether he owned the account? This was a failure to observe basic procedures before exercising the coercive power of the state.
On October 20, Naam Tamilar Katchi’s Dharapuram bypoll candidate M Karthika, her husband, and several party workers were arrested in the early hours of the morning in connection with cases arising from the election campaign. These included an alleged road blockade during Vijay’s October 4 roadshow and confrontations with police personnel.
The police must investigate such complaints irrespective of political affiliation. However, the early-morning arrests, nearly three weeks after the roadshow, raised questions about their necessity and proportionality. The NTK described the action as politically motivated.
On November 2, Justice N Ramesh of the Madras High Court granted anticipatory bail to DMK councillor D Sudha, booked over abusive remarks about the Chief Minister. The judge observed that the office of Chief Minister was not so fragile that a councillor’s invective could shake it.
While Sudha’s language warranted criticism, the court questioned the use of criminal law to address what was essentially a case of personal insult or defamation. Such grievances should ordinarily be addressed through the remedies provided by law, rather than by invoking public-order offences without evidence of incitement or a threat to public order.
The judge also reminded the police that they serve the state, which endures, and not the party in government, which changes. Referring to the Kalaiyarasan episode, he observed that an apology from higher authorities was not the same as accountability.
In other words, the court questioned the tendency to use criminal procedure in response to political speech. A government that encounters such judicial criticism within its first six months needs to examine its relationship with the police.
The first test of governance is the cost of living.
In late October, retail prices of popular rice varieties rose by between 10 and 37 per cent in a month. Pulses and vegetables have also become more expensive.
The government has attributed the increase partly to international developments, including the Iran conflict and higher fuel costs. Traders, however, have also pointed to domestic supply shortages, seasonal factors and increased demand.
In September, the state began selling onions at Rs 35 a kilogram through urban fair price shops. More recently, Vijay sought the Union government’s approval to impose stockholding limits on rice, pulses, edible oils and onions.
Such interventions may help contain prices, but why did the government struggle to respond earlier to a problem that was becoming increasingly visible? Monitoring prices is not the same as ensuring affordability.
The second test is revenue.
Tamil Nadu’s gross GST collections fell by about 5 per cent in September to Rs 10,188 crore, compared with Rs 10,670 crore a year earlier. The government points out that post-settlement GST revenue, which the state actually retains, increased by 16 per cent to Rs 44,266 crore in the first half of the year. It attributes the decline in gross collections partly to the changes introduced under GST 2.0.
Although falling gross collections alone do not establish an economic contraction, October’s domestic GST collections grew by only 3 per cent to Rs 11,661 crore, while several comparable states recorded substantially higher growth. This raises questions about the relative weakness of its tax collection performance. The government needs to explain this rather than rely exclusively on improved post-settlement receipts.
The government’s law-and-order record raises concerns about the basic functioning of the police and prison administration.
On October 26, seventeen remand prisoners escaped from Thekkampatti sub-jail in Theni district. All seventeen were eventually apprehended, but the security failure cannot be overlooked.
Days later, a robbery accused escaped from Annur police station in Coimbatore district. After being recaptured, he escaped again from the Coimbatore Central Prison complex the following day. Two escapes within 24 hours expose serious lapses in the handling and transfer of prisoners.
Additionally, the disappearance of seven-year-old Hemalatha from Gingee in Villupuram district raises another concern. The child went missing on October 12. The investigation was transferred to the CB-CID after the local police failed to find substantial leads.
However, nearly three weeks later, there had been no significant breakthrough. The inability to trace a missing child after such an extended investigation is a matter of grave concern.
Above all this, there is another dimension Vijay cannot afford to overlook: the conduct of his own party functionaries.
In May, a TVK ward secretary in Chennai was arrested over the alleged sexual assault of a ten-year-old girl. In June, two functionaries were arrested in Thoothukudi for allegedly sexually assaulting a woman after luring her with a job offer.
A TVK functionary in Kanyakumari was also arrested following a postgraduate student’s sexual assault complaint. More recently, N Boobalan, a TVK district executive committee member, was arrested in connection with the seizure of approximately 137 kg of methamphetamine in Nagapattinam. He was subsequently expelled from the party.
These are allegations under investigation, not findings of guilt. Nevertheless, their frequency and seriousness raise questions about the party’s internal screening and accountability.
Expelling an accused functionary after an arrest may be necessary, but it cannot substitute for due diligence in appointments and organisational discipline.
Vijay has repeatedly spoken about women’s safety and a drug-free Tamil Nadu. He must ensure that the standards he advocates publicly are upheld within his own party.
There is also an uncomfortable contrast in police priorities. The force has shown considerable readiness to act on complaints involving political speech and protests, sometimes before adequately establishing the facts.
Yet, serious failures in prison security and criminal investigations expose weaknesses in the same administrative machinery. The question is whether the police are deploying their authority and resources where citizens need them most.
Critics argue that the government is deliberately using police action to distract attention from its administrative shortcomings. Of course, such a claim would require evidence of intent. What is evident, however, is a pattern of administrative lapses, inadequate institutional accountability and an increasingly uncomfortable relationship with political criticism.
Vijay entered politics promising an alternative to established political parties. That promise carries obligations beyond electoral popularity.
A new government must demonstrate that it can manage the economy, maintain public order and respect the safeguards that protect citizens from arbitrary power. The High Court has rightly articulated what a confident government should understand. It should meet criticism with argument, mockery with performance and abuse, where necessary, with the remedies provided by law.
It must not treat political disagreement as a threat to its authority.
So, Vijay’s immediate challenge is to demonstrate administrative competence: address rising prices, explain weak GST collection growth, strengthen prison security and ensure that serious investigations are conducted with urgency. Above all, he must establish that the police serve the public and the Constitution, rather than political interests.
For a government that promised a new political culture, the real test of change is whether citizens feel more secure, find public institutions more responsive, and experience a measurable improvement in their lives.
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(P John J Kennedy is an educator, columnist, and political analyst. Edited by R Rajesh Kumar.)
