Just days after completing 100 days in office, the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) government in Tamil Nadu, led by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, faces its first-ever corruption charge.
CM Vijay’s plan
to shift to a new office has ignited a massive controversy, with the opposition Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) levelling corruption charges.
Since assuming office after a landmark mandate, the Chief Minister Vijay-led government has always vowed an “anti-corruption” stance. However, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has levelled the first-ever corruption allegations against the TVK government, claiming irregularities in the Rs 5.54 crore tender issued for relocating the CMO, according to India Today.
The TVK has rejected the allegations.
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What Is The Controversy?
The controversy arose after CM Vijay announced plan to shift the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) from the main block of Fort St George to the adjoining Namakkal Kavingar Maaligai building. While both are located within the same Secretariat complex, the TVK argues that the relocation was needed to provide more room for his officials and staff.
The TVK has also asserted that the decision is not about “personal luxury”.
However, the DMK –– the principal opposition in Tamil Nadu –– and the BJP have alleged that work on the new office had commenced even before the tender was passed. The BJP claimed that the Rs 5.5 crore tender was tabled a month after the construction began, India Today reported.
Dr. Aseer Achary, who serves as a national coordinator for the BJP’s Digital Library and Documentation, targeted the TVK government and questioned why the tender reportedly surfaced over a month after the construction began.
“I am here to speak about corruption in the government of Tamil Nadu. C. Joseph Vijay, the CM of Tamil Nadu, promised a transparent and corruption-free government. But now, he wants to shift his office to another building, Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai”, Achary said while addressing a presser.
I am here to speak about corruption in the government of Tamil Nadu. C. Joseph Vijay, the CM of Tamil Nadu, promised a transparent and corruption-free government. But now, he wants to shift his office to another building, Namakkal Kavignar Maaligai.
For this purpose, he has… pic.twitter.com/pN21y0FCm3
— BJP (@BJP4India) August 17, 2026
He claimed that the work on the new office had been going on for the last one month. “For this purpose, he has earmarked one entire floor, which is the 10th floor. He has asked the PWD department to carry out the renovation work. This work has been going on for the last one month. But all of a sudden, on the 12th of this month, the Public Works Department came up with a tender which says there will be three blocks for the CM’s office. All put together, the tender value is ₹5.54 crore.”
Achary questioned the Chief Minister and his government why the tender was passed a month after the construction started. “Now, the question is: when the work has already been going on and is being carried out under the supervision of PWD official engineers, why has this tender come after one month?” he asked.
However, Tamil Nadu’s PWD Minister and TVK General Secretary Aadhav Arjuna called the allegations “incorrect”, saying the tender process was not yet complete.
Arjuna, a close aide of Vijay, stressed that the new office was not being constructed for the Chief Minister’s “personal comfort” or for his own requirements.
