Reversal marks the latest in a string of policy U-turns by the young TVK-led coalition government
Tamil Nadu’s TVK-led government, headed by Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay, reversed course on Sunday and revoked an order exempting the Public (Law and Order) Department from the Right to Information Act, just days after issuing it, following sharp criticism from opposition parties and TVK’s own alliance partners.
The withdrawal order stated that Government Order Ms. No. 57 of the Human Resources Management (R) Department, dated September 21, 2026, relating to the exemption of the Public (Law and Order) Department under sub-section (4) of Section 24 of the RTI Act, 2005, stood revoked.
What the original order did
The September 21 order had invoked Section 24(4) of the RTI Act to declare the Public (Law and Order) Department an “Intelligence and Security Organisation,” a classification that would have placed it outside the Act’s purview. In practice, this would have blocked public access to information on matters the department handles, including inquiries into communal and caste clashes, detentions under the National Security Act, police firing incidents, custodial deaths and police torture.
Alliance partners turn against the move
The order drew criticism even from within TVK’s own governing coalition, which includes Congress and left parties. CPI(M) MP Su. Venkatesan was among the sharpest critics, calling it an “overt attempt” to turn Tamil Nadu into a “police state” and demanding its immediate withdrawal. In a post on X, Venkatesan alleged that government officials were already ordering surveillance of leftist organisations, that custodial deaths were occurring, and that police were entering college campuses to arrest student protesters — arguing that exempting law-and-order matters from RTI scrutiny in this context deserved severe condemnation.
Government’s initial defence, then reversal
TVK Minister CTR Nirmal Kumar had initially defended the order, saying it was intended to withhold information on only a limited set of sensitive subjects. He had also indicated ahead of the reversal that the decision would be withdrawn if the public was unhappy with it — a signal that materialised within hours as the backlash intensified.
Part of a broader pattern
Sunday’s about-turn is not the first time the young TVK government has reversed a policy decision under public pressure. Earlier this month, a land-acquisition notification for the Phase-3 expansion of the Cheyyar SIPCOT Industrial Park in Tiruvannamalai district was withdrawn following farmer protests, and several government appointments have also been revoked after facing criticism.
The reversal comes as opposition parties, including the BJP, have seized on the episode, arguing that a coalition which routinely criticises the Centre over transparency deficits appeared, at least briefly, to be applying a different standard in the state it governs.
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