Vijay announces vehicles, Rs 1 lakh monthly allowance for Tamil Nadu MLAs
Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Wednesday announced official vehicles and a monthly allowance of Rs 1 lakh for all MLAs to help them address public grievances in their constituencies.
Making the announcement under Rule 110 in the Assembly, Vijay said the government will provide Rs 75,000 a month for vehicle maintenance, fuel and driver costs, and another Rs 25,000 to hire a personal assistant for constituency work. He said the move would help MLAs travel across their constituencies and monitor government projects without depending on others, and would reduce their financial burden while improving transparency and ensuring government services reach the grassroots without corruption. He said appropriate amendments would be made to formalise the directive. Speaker J C D Prabhakar later clarified that the announcement covers all 234 MLAs in the House.
The announcement comes hours after the Vijay government revoked an order that had sought to stop students from joining protests organised by Left parties and the Tamil Nadu Cockroach Janata Party. The August 14 order, withdrawn following backlash, had asked school and college administrations to prevent students from participating in the demonstrations and to submit action taken reports by August 20. The Left parties, whose outside support helped TVK form the government after it fell short of a majority in the assembly polls, had objected to the order, while the BJP had backed it.
The government has also faced criticism over the CM's appointment of his long time astrologer, Radhan Pandit Vettrivel, as Officer on Special Duty. Pandit, who had predicted a TVK win ahead of the 2026 polls and was previously an adviser to J Jayalalithaa, drew objections from Congress and Left leaders within the ruling coalition, who questioned the need for an astrologer in a government post and said the move ran counter to scientific temper.
