TVK chief terms it targeted welfare, slams the ruling government for the loot of natural resource

CHENNAI: Actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president Vijay on Sunday unveiled an ambitious socio-economic vision that places education, permanent housing and guaranteed livelihood support at the centre of his party’s political agenda.

Addressing thousands of supporters at an indoor auditorium of a private college, titled “Makkal Sandhippu,” in Sunguvarchatram, Kancheepuram, he said every household must be empowered to own a permanent house, have at least one graduate, secure a stable income source, and attain the economic ability to own a motorcycle and, eventually, a car.

“These are not mere slogans or dreams. We will work to make them a reality. A home for every family, education for every young person and income security for every household. This is the future Tamil Nadu deserves,” Vijay said. He added that the party’s full manifesto would be released ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, but the broad direction of TVK’s priorities must be communicated now.

Outlining his vision, Vijay said reforms in school and college curricula, strengthening public healthcare, upgrading government hospitals to restore trust, enabling large-scale industrial growth, ensuring stronger measures for women’s safety and providing targeted welfare for fishermen, farmers, weavers, government employees, teachers, and labourers would shape TVK’s policy framework.

He stressed that governance should be based on measurable progress and not merely on announcements. “Plans must be real. They cannot be gimmicks. With input from people, fishermen, weavers, labourers and teachers, we will create systems that actually work and implement them without compromise,” he said.

In a political attack, Vijay alleged that the ruling DMK government oversaw the illegal mining of sand worth Rs 4,730 crore from the Palar river. He claimed that 22.7 lakh units of sand were unlawfully mined and smuggled during the present regime and said that the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) and the courts already had evidence. “This is organised theft. Loot has become their ideology,” he charged.

Vijay said his disagreement with the ruling party was moral and not personal. “They made promises they never intended to keep. When a government repeatedly deceives the people, silence becomes complicity,” he said, adding that TVK would continue questioning the government consistently.

Positioning TVK as the primary challenger, he said, “From the Assembly to every platform, they attack only one name, TVK. If they tremble even before we start campaigning, imagine what will happen when we intensify our efforts.”

He invoked MGR several times and quoted a famous line from MGR’s film Marmayogi: “If I aim, I will not miss. If I might miss, I will not aim at all.”

Responding to critics who labelled his supporters as “tharkuri” (nincompoops), Vijay said, “We are not tharkuris. We are the acharyakuri of Tamil Nadu politics, the sign of change.”

“We entered politics to do good. Victory is not merely coming. Victory is certain,” he said.