3 months of Vijay Govt: Tough stance on women's safety, narcotics, graft

Having assumed office on 10th May 2026, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Joseph Vijay's coalition Government completed three months this week. Earlier this year, Vijay's debutant TVK party stormed to power by disrupting the dominance of the Dravidian parties DMK and AIADMK, which had ruled Tamil Nadu for nearly six decades. Vijay's cinema stardom, his widespread popularity, decades-long connect with the masses and his promise to herald a significant change and rollout unprecedented welfare measures, led to his party's emergence as the single largest in the newly-elected Tamil Nadu assembly. Though his party did not have adequate numbers to form the Government on its own, the TVK managed to win over major allies of the DMK, which is the second largest party in the state.

Among the key focus areas of Vijay's coalition government has been the welfare and safety of women and children, rooting out corruption, a tough stance against narcotics etc. Over the last couple of months, this has been reflected in several efforts undertaken by the TVK Government.

Pro-women initiatives

Barely two days after taking office as Chief Minister, actor-turned-politician Vijay ordered shut 15percent of the Government-run liquor outlets in the state. In Tamil Nadu, the sale of liquor has been a monopoly of the Government-run Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation(TASMAC), which has complete control on the procurement, distribution, and retail sale of liquor through 4,765 outlets across the state. Vijay's Government ordered the closure of 717 of these outlets, which operate within 500 meters of educational institutions, bus stands, places of worship.

In June, Chief Minister Vijay launched the

all-women 'Singappen'(Lioness) Special force under the state Police Department. Meant to operate under the direct supervision of the Chief Minister's Office, the force has been tasked with improving women's safety, patrolling public spaces, preventing crimes against women and children, building safer communities and offering emergency support to women.

Tough Anti-narcotics stance

On June 26th, marking the International Day Against Drug Abuse, CM Vijay flagged off a "Start Run, Stop Drugs" Marathon, a Government effort involving thousands of youngsters. Aside from flagging it off, the 52-year-old Vijay also ran the distance of over 3kilometers along Chennai's scenic Marina beach road.

This week, CM Vijay furthered his Government's 'Drug-free Tamil Nadu' vision. Vijay led a mass anti-drug pledge for students who had gathered in Chennai from various schools across the state. This event comes amid the first Budget session of the Vijay-led TVK Government, which allocated Rs.7crore towards school level anti-drug initiatives in the 2026-27 Estimates. This also includes the launch of Drug Free Tamil Nadu mobile application.

Rooting out corruption in Government establishments

In a major step to prevent corruption, the Vijay Govt ordered in July that all Govt offices and websites display a Whatsapp number, E-mail ID, phone numbers for reporting complaints aboutbribery and corruption. The latest order came after similar Government orders over the last two decades, had not been properly implemented. In the order dated 14thJuly 2026, the Chief Secretary urged all the Departments of Secretariat and all the Heads of Department, all Collectors, District level officials are requested to display "Anti-bribery" Notice Boards in English and in Tamil, in every office, in public places at visible points, also in websites.