Speech Highlights

Dharapuram By-Election Campaign

📍 Dharapuram, Tiruppur district · Campaign meeting for TVK candidate P. Sathyabama

Key lines

• “I have come as your brother, your son — your Thai Maaman.”“உங்க விஜய்யா, உங்க வீட்டு தாய் மாமனா வந்திருக்கேன்.”
• “Not only is every religion acceptable — every religion is our religion.”

Main themes

Announcements

• Tiruppur development list: ₹72 crore building for Tiruppur Government Medical College
• ₹30 crore poultry bio-safety laboratory
• Thirumoorthi Malai dam park development, seed storage warehouse and desilting of water bodies

Sources: India Today, Lokal Tamil, DT Next, Dinamani

Madurantakam By-Election Campaign

📍 Aathur, Madurantakam (Chengalpattu district) · Campaign meeting for TVK candidate Maragatham Kumaravel

Key lines

• “I have not come here as Chief Minister — I have come as your brother and son.”
• “I am not against development.”
• “We will not touch people’s money, we will not let anyone touch it, and we will not spare those who did.”

Main themes

Sources: Maalaimalar, ETV Bharat, Kalki, Nakkheeran, Oneindia Tamil

Assembly Reply — Police Demands for Grants

📍 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly · Reply to the debate on the Police Department budget

Key lines

• “It is only in the peace of a state that development exists.”
• Police should be a friend to good people and the enemy of criminals.

Main themes

Sources: Daily Thanthi, Indian Express Tamil, Dinamani

First Independence Day Address

📍 Fort St George, Chennai · 80th Independence Day — first flag-hoisting as Chief Minister

Key lines

• “Vanakkam Gen Z.”
• “Freedom from corruption and bribery is also independence.”
• “The people are the rulers.”

Main themes

Announcements

• Thaaimaman Thanga Mothiram: gold ring for newborns in government hospitals (₹755.83 crore) — launched 28 Sep in Madurai
• Marriage aid for two daughters of ex-servicemen doubled: ₹25,000 → ₹50,000
• Monthly aid for differently-abled ex-servicemen: ₹5,000 → ₹7,000
• Freedom fighters’ pension raised to ₹23,000; family pension to ₹12,500
• Special pension for descendants of Veerapandiya Kattabomman, the Marudu brothers, V.O. Chidambaranar and others: ₹11,500

Sources: Akashvani, DT Next, The Tribune (PTI), The Federal, The Indian Express, Hindustan Times

Karur — First Visit After the 2025 Tragedy

📍 Atlas Kalaiarangam, Karur · Meeting the families of the 2025 Karur stampede victims

Key lines

• “My Karur people, who live in my heart…”“என் நெஞ்சில் குடியிருக்கும் கரூர் சொந்தங்கள்…”
• “No success can erase the pain of Karur.”
• “If anyone asks you for a bribe, tell them you won’t pay — I am with you.”“உங்களிடம் யாராவது லஞ்சம் கேட்டால் தர முடியாது எனச் சொல்லுங்கள்; நான் இருக்கிறேன் உங்களுடன்.”
• “Talk less, work more.”

Main themes

Announcements

• Compassionate appointment orders handed to 31–32 legal heirs of the victims (reports differ). The High Court allowed them only temporarily, and on 27 July quashed the government order.
• A memorial to the victims, to be built in Karur by TVK
• Thaaimaman Thanga Mothiram scheme announced for launch

Sources: The New Indian Express, ANI, DT Next, Maalaimalar, The Star

“Start Run, Stop Drugs” — Anti-Drug Pledge

📍 Marina, Chennai · International Day Against Drug Abuse — awareness run organised by SDAT

Key lines

• “Start Run, Stop Drugs.”
• “Sports-ah Edu, Drugs-ah Vidu” — choose sports, quit drugs.

Main themes

Announcements

• Led the anti-drug pledge for thousands of participants, then ran several kilometres with them (reports put the distance at 3 to 6 km)

Sources: The New Indian Express, Samayam Tamil, NDTV, The Indian Express

First Assembly Reply — Governor’s Address

📍 Tamil Nadu Legislative Assembly · Reply to the debate on the Governor’s Address (about 45 minutes)

Key lines

• “I did not become Chief Minister overnight.”
• “Give us some time.”“கொஞ்சம் அவகாசம் கொடுங்கள்.”
• “This is a democratic government, not a monarchy.”
• “I will neither be corrupt nor spare those who were corrupt.”

Main themes

Announcements

• 40-day record cited: cooperative loan waiver for over 14 lakh farmers, Amma Canteens restored, Jal Jeevan Mission revived, 717 bars near schools and temples closed, drone checks on illegal quarrying

Sources: Dinamani, DT Next, India Today, Indian Express Tamil, The Times of India

Trichy East Thanksgiving — First Public Speech as CM

📍 St. Joseph’s College grounds, Tiruchirappalli · Thanking the voters of Tiruchirappalli East

Key lines

• “Trichy East is my beloved child.”“திருச்சி கிழக்கு எனக்கு செல்லப்பிள்ளை.”
• “Perambur and Trichy East are like my two eyes.”
• “I will give a government without corruption and bribery.”“ஊழல் இல்லாத, லஞ்சம் இல்லாத ஆட்சியை கொடுப்பேன்.”
• “All 234 constituencies are our constituencies.”
• “I have no other work — my work is to keep working.”

Main themes

Announcements

• Singappen women’s safety police force to start the following week
• An ordinary local person to contest the Trichy East by-election for TVK

Sources: Dinamani, Daily Thanthi, Indian Express Tamil, The New Indian Express

First Speech as Chief Minister

📍 Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium, Chennai · Immediately after the swearing-in

Key lines

• “I am one among you — your son and your brother.”
• “I am not a heavenly messenger; I am a normal human being.”
• “I will not touch even a single paisa of people’s money.”
• “A new era of real, secular social justice starts now.”

Main themes

Announcements

• First-day files: a special force and helpline for women’s safety, and a statewide anti-drug mechanism
• A White Paper on the state’s finances promised

Sources: The News Minute, The New Indian Express, NDTV, The Indian Express, The Week, Lok Bhavan