Actor-politican Vijay (L); Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin.
Credit: PTI Photos
Chennai: “Long live critics.”
This is how Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M K Stalin on Monday reacted to actor Vijay’s political debut and his assertion that the DMK is the “political enemy” of his newly launched party, Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK).
Stalin, while addressing a public event here, said everyone, including newcomers who take a plunge into politics, want to oppose DMK politically without looking at the “development work” that the party-led government has done in the past three-and-a-half-years.
The Chief Minister also took a dig at a “section of the media” in Tamil Nadu for “spreading lies” over the government’s preparedness to handle monsoon rains in Chennai.
“They want to oppose the DMK. They are envious of the DMK’s growth and that’s the reason for them to oppose our party. There are so many people, including newbies, who have taken a plunge into politics with an aim to destroy the DMK. My humble submission to them is to see our work in the last four years,” the DMK President said.
“I would like to invoke (C N) Anna (durai) to convey a message to all those who oppose the DMK. Long live those who oppose us,” Stalin said, adding that neither him nor his party was “interested” in responding to criticism.
“We don’t want to waste our time. We are interested in spending our time doing good for the people,” the Chief Minister added.
This is the first time that Stalin has responded to Vijay's stringent criticism of the DMK. The ruling party had been keeping mum on TVK, which has identified the DMK as its “political enemy” and BJP as its “ideological enemy” for the past one week after dismissing the actor’s political plunge.
Stalin’s criticism comes a day after Vijay kept up his attack on the DMK at a party meeting by opposing the greenfield airport for Chennai proposed at Parandur. He also opposed the ‘One Nation, One Election’ proposal.
Vijay, who formally launched the TVK on October 27 at a massive rally in Vikravandi in Villupuram district, launched a blistering attack on the DMK by accusing it of “cheating the people” in the name of the Dravidian model of governance. The actor had also alleged that the DMK deviated from the principles propagated by E V R Periyar and C N Annadurai by “installing a one-family rule.”
Not just the DMK, almost all political parties, including the ruling party’s allies and Opposition AIADMK, criticized Vijay’s ideology as “nothing but old wine in a new bottle.”