Tamil Nadu chief minister (CM) Joseph Vijay has expanded his team of ministers and inducted representatives from the Congress, Indian Union Muslim League, and the Viduthalai Chiruthagal Katchi. This is the first coalition government in the state since 1952. His focus now must shift to governance.
Barring some tendentious groups motivated by political animus, a sizeable section of the state’s population desperately want Vijay to succeed.
Vijay’s lack of experience in public administration is cited by most of his adversaries as reason why he will not succeed. There are at the same time those who wanted a change and who describe this as baseless cynicism. The history of modern public administration in India and a few other Asian countries highlights the fact that a few neophytes have indeed succeeded even when the odds were against them.
My mind goes immediately to the decisively effective rule given by K Kamaraj, who lent the much-needed political stability to Tamil Nadu in the early 1950s.
To this day, he is looked upon as the epitome of clean popular rule and a model to emulate even six decades after his rule ended. Kamaraj took the whole of the rural population with him and initiated several projects, including the mid-day meal scheme. He gave a free hand to officials but did not protect those misbehaved with the public.
CM Vijay has rightly kept the home portfolio with him. This is logical because in his first public pronouncements, he cited crime against women and illicit drug trafficking as twin major evils that had ballooned under the DMK regime and which needed immediate attention. His assessment will be widely endorsed by the public.
Being an essentially urban bird, I had until recently believed that these two issues had been overstated. A few of my knowledgeable contacts tell me a different story. Women felt threatened in many villages by powerful men with political connections aided by corrupt policemen. It will be facile to believe that enlarging the women police component would reduce the intensity of fear among women citizens.
It could at best enhance the registration of complaints and result in more arrests. That may not be enough unless the speed of disposal of court trials is accelerated. Speedy trial and certainty of punishment are the two effective means to reduce crime rates.
Visible physical presence of the police should make a lot of difference. This has been the experience of many modern police forces.
Prohibited substances are reportedly available across the state. This is analogous to the situation some time ago in Punjab. A large section of the youth in the state has unfortunately fallen prey to alcohol and this has considerably affected the law and order situation. Conscious of this development, the new CM has ordered closure of liquor shops in the vicinity of educational institutions.
Undoubtedly, Vijay means business. The question is if he will give a free hand to the police so that they act without fear or favour. His intentions are transparent and seem honest. There is no reason to believe he will not succeed.
RK Raghavan is a former CBI director. The views expressed are personal
