CHENNAI: The forthcoming Assembly election would be a direct contest between DMK president and Chief Minister MK Stalin and Vijay, said actor and TVK president Vijay on Monday. Addressing party functionaries in Vellore, he also unveiled a slew of assurances centred on law and order, women's safety and institutional reforms.
"The coming election is not between Tamil Nadu and Delhi. It is not about the NDA. This is an Assembly election. Why confuse people," he asked, in an apparent rebuttal to Stalin's remarks framing the contest as one between the State and the New Delhi and the NDA.
Vijay asserted that the poll would be Tamil Nadu people versus DMK rule and went further to say, "If I must put it briefly, it is Vijay versus Stalin." He alleged that corruption, bribery and administrative inefficiency marked the present regime and claimed that "all parties are uniting against me because I stand against corruption with the people."
In a swipe at the DMK's alliance-building efforts, he alleged that parties were being brought together through "inducements". Calling the election a whistle revolution, he urged voters to press the whistle symbol on EVMs "to switch off this government."
Vijay administered a pledge to cadres, who repeated after him: "Our vote is our right. No one can buy us. Our vote is for the whistle symbol. We will not be deceived. We will not go back on our word. This is the truth."
Opening his speech with a parable, Vijay likened Tamil Nadu's political arena to an untamed bull, the people to a wise elder, and TVK to the youth determined to tame the beast. He said the party had emerged as a mass movement at a time when people, in the absence of a leadership that truly loves them, were left disappointed by what he described as unfulfilled promises.
Referring to recent controversies, Vijay said: "If you say I do not understand politics, you are saying the people do not understand politics. If you defame me, you defame the people." He turned emotional while stating that he and the people were inseparable "like body and soul".
Challenging political rivals, he asked them to declare their assets before and after entering politics. "Can you disclose it openly?" he said.
Targeting the government's record, Vijay questioned the delay in implementing the promised monthly electricity billing system. "Is that not modern corruption?" he asked. He alleged gaps in women's safety and law and order and said some hill villages still lacked adequate transport and primary healthcare, forcing women into unsafe childbirth conditions at home.
Outlining his party's promises, Vijay said women's and children's safety would be the top priority under a TVK government and that law enforcement would be strict and impartial. He promised a drug-free Tamil Nadu, quality upgrades in government schools and colleges, syllabus revisions to align with competitive examinations, and the introduction of a foundational course on the Constitution in higher education.
He also proposed that half of future appointments of District Collectors and Superintendents of Police be women, expansion of bus services to underserved areas, establishment of primary health centres in hill regions, and the creation of a welfare board for auto, taxi and truck drivers. Industrial development in southern districts would receive focused attention, he added.
"There is no compromise on secularism or the safety of minorities, " Vijay said.