Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) Chief C Joseph Vijay on Sunday addressed a gathering for the first time after taking oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. In the address, the new Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu, Vijay, introduced himself as a 'common man'.
Stressing that he did not come from any political dynasty or royal background, Vijay said that was precisely why people had placed their trust in him.
The actor-turned-politician said he would not mislead the public with empty assurances and promised to work towards "an era of real, secular, social justice". He also urged people to give him adequate time before evaluating his government’s performance.
"I am not an angel, but a common man. We will take care of you", said Vijay in his first address as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. "There will be no power centre other than me. I will be the only centre of power," Vijay said, underlining that he would be accountable for the decisions and policies of his government.
PM Narendra Modi congratulated Vijay and stated the Centre will work with them to benefit citizens. "Congratulations to Thiru C Joseph Vijay on taking oath as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister. Best wishes for his tenure ahead. The Central Government will keep working with the Tamil Nadu Government to improve the lives of people,"the PM wrote.
It took Vijay five days, four meetings and numerous conversations with his supporting coalition partners to assemble the necessary votes to obtain a simple majority within the Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly before being able to take the oath of office as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu at 10:00 AM this morning in the Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, resulting in a new government in Tamil Nadu that was neither connected to either DMK or AIADMK since the last election cycle (60 years ago).
Nine other members of the TVK, including KA Sengottaiyan, Aadhav Arjun, N Anand, Arunraj, Raj Mohan, P Venkataramanan, TK Prabhu, Keerthana and CTR Nirmal Kumar, were sworn in as members of the Cabinet, along with Vijay.