Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay delivered his first Independence Day address on Saturday from Fort St George in Chennai, marking India's 80th year of independence, and used the occasion to press for what he called zero tolerance toward corruption. He told the gathering that his government is working in mission mode toward a corruption free administration and wants the people of Tamil Nadu to hold that same standard.
Vijay framed the fight against corruption as an extension of freedom itself, saying that eliminating graft is what his government is working precisely toward. He said revenue that was previously finding its way from government coffers into private hands has been checked, and that departments are under continuous watch to root out further leakage.
On relations with the Centre, the Chief Minister struck a dual note. He offered cooperation on central schemes that benefit the state, while drawing a firm line on anything he views as working against Tamil Nadu's own policies, saying his government would oppose such measures. He also thanked the Tamil people, both in the state and abroad, along with what he called the Gen Z generation, for backing his TVK government past lines of caste and religion, and for rejecting the pull of money and muscle power at the ballot box.
The address doubled as a scorecard for the government's first three months in office. Vijay cited farm loan waivers worth 5,093.23 crore rupees, the closure of 717 TASMAC liquor outlets, and the rollout of 300 new buses funded at 127.21 crore rupees. On welfare, he announced that marriage assistance for ex servicemen has been doubled to 50,000 rupees and that the monthly pension for freedom fighters has been raised to 23,000 rupees, alongside increases for veterans and their descendants.
Looking ahead, Vijay set out an ambition to turn Tamil Nadu into a model state and to grow its economy to one and a half trillion dollars by 2036, tying the corruption pledge to that longer term goal of self reliant, transparent governance.