Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister, C Joseph Vijay, has been in office for less than a day. His first words after taking the oath on Sunday morning were: “This is a new beginning. A new era of real, secular, social justice starts now.”
The word “secular” was not incidental, and was doing some heavy lifting. It has been the load-bearing pillar of Vijay's political ideology since he launched the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) in February 2024.
The Congress, the anchor party of the opposition Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA bloc), has contributed its five seats to bring to reality the superstar actor’s political blockbuster. The formal condition on which the Congress has contributed its seats is that TVK keeps out communal forces that do not believe in the Constitution of India.
Rahul Gandhi flew from Delhi to Chennai and attended the swearing-in. On X, he wrote: “Tamil Nadu has chosen a new generation, a new voice and a new imagination… My good wishes to Thiru Vijay — may he fulfil the hopes of the people of Tamil Nadu.”
Their bonhomie on stage was palpable. They took the main two chairs, and constantly chatted, with Rahul apparently saying something to Vijay at point in his ear that made him chuckle too.
The BJP and RSS have long said India being a “Hindu nation” is already secular by nature, and that the word is misused by the Congress to hide its “appeasement” of Muslims.
After the May 4 results, when the Congress went with Vijay, senior DMK leader TKS Elangovan declared: “INDIA bloc is gone. We will reframe the alliance.”
