In a significant order aimed at preserving the political neutrality of government welfare initiatives, the Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu government not to use the name or image of the incumbent Chief Minister or any living personality in the naming or promotion of state-sponsored schemes.
The ruling came while the court was hearing a petition filed by AIADMK MP C.V. Shanmugam, who had challenged the DMK-led government’s practice of naming welfare schemes after Chief Minister M.K. Stalin, including titles such as ‘Ungaludan Stalin’ (Stalin With You) and ‘Nalam Kaakum Stalin Thittam’ (Stalin's Health Protection Scheme).
Shanmugam’s petition argued that using the Chief Minister’s name and photograph in scheme nomenclature and publicity materials amounted to the misuse of public funds for political branding. He contended that this practice violates Supreme Court rulings and the Government Advertisement (Content Regulation) Guidelines, 2014, which discourage the personalization of publicly funded programmes.
Mentioning the name of the incumbent Chief Minister in the nomenclature of the scheme and all such pictorial representations is in violation of various judicial pronouncements of the Hon'ble Supreme Court,” the petition stated.
Representing the state government, senior advocate and Rajya Sabha MP P. Wilson dismissed the petition as politically motivated, accusing the petitioner of selectively targeting the DMK government.
“When government schemes have been named after NaMo [a reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi] and Amma [former CM Jayalalithaa], why can’t there also be Ungaludan Stalin?” Wilson asked.
However, the court maintained a clear distinction between legacy figures and living political leaders, emphasizing that government schemes funded by the public exchequer must be presented in a politically neutral manner. It clarified that the ruling does not affect the implementation of the welfare schemes themselves, but applies strictly to the naming conventions and promotional materials associated with them.
The High Court’s order is expected to have wide-ranging implications for how political parties in Tamil Nadu — and potentially across India — project their welfare policies. It reinforces the principle that public service initiatives should not serve as vehicles for political image-building, particularly through the use of names and photographs of serving leaders.
The case is likely to set a precedent for future legal scrutiny of politically branded welfare schemes, particularly in states where the lines between governance and party promotion have been frequently contested.
