Equating the ruling DMK and the BJP as the same and not different, film star-turned politician and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay on Thursday warned the electorate against voting for them.
“The DMK and the BJP are in no way different; they are one and the same. Beware of voting for them since they are cheating the minorities. One does it in the name of ideology, by pocketing the Congress with money power and is half Khadi. The ‘others’, with their Delhi owner, remain half saffron. Do not believe either the DMK or the BJP and voting for both, you know, is no different,” Vijay said, addressing a massive rally, after filing his nomination for the Trichy East constituency.
This is the second seat he is contesting in his electoral debut. The other is Perambur in Chennai, where he filed the papers on Monday. Both urban constituencies have sizeable minority Christian voters, which is said to be the reason to opt for them.
Targeting both the DMK-led Secular Progressive Alliance and the AIADMK-led NDA, of which the BJP is a constituent, Vijay described the former as a moneybag alliance and the latter as a deceitful combine. In his view, both are conspiring against him, apprehensive of his political plunge. “As many believe, the Karur stampede (which claimed 41 lives during his September last rally) is a conspiracy, and my swansong movie Jana Nayagan is seen as a big threat and a weapon in this election. It is a joint conspiracy. I have come to seek justice for you and for me as well,” he said.
Commencing his campaign after garlanding the statue of AIADMK founder and matinee idol MG Ramachandran (MGR), he appealed to the electorate to give him an opportunity, assuring them that he would provide a 100 per cent clean, corruption-free government. “I have come to you giving up everything and bearing all the pain. We will give a 100% clean government. I know you trust Vijay 100 percent. That’s why I am asking you to give me an opportunity. Give only one chance,” he said with folded hands adding, “This is an election for a generation. Vote for Whistle (TVK’s symbol).”
On the LPG crisis, which has resulted in many hotels and roadside eateries closing down, he blamed both the Modi government and the Stalin government in the state, saying, “Had they been alert when the war broke out, the situation could have been addressed in a better manner. Both are responsible. Stalin may say it is not his responsibility, but he will fly to Delhi when there is a raid or an issue with his family,” and asked, “Why can’t he fly to Delhi now?”
Listing the DMK’s unkept poll promises, Vijay asked what happened to securing exemption from NEET, Rs 4,000 MSP for sugarcane and Rs 100 subsidy on gas cylinders, among other things. He also blamed the DMK government for failing to provide toilets and other basic infrastructure in government schools, and for allowing teaching vacancies in colleges to pile up.
Keeping the heat on local DMK strongman and Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru, Vijay taunted him over the job-for-cash scam running into Rs 1,000 crore. “If this is the scale in one department, the figures in others will make one swoon,” he said, reiterating his charge that the DMK is an evil force that must be voted out in this election.