CHENNAI: VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan on Thursday questioned the “silence” of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) leader Vijay even after videos surfaced from Hindu Munnani’s Murugan Manadu, criticising Dravidian stalwarts Thanthai Periyar and C N Annadurai. The actor-turned-politician’s silence sows seeds of doubt as to whether he has truly embraced Periyar’s ideology or not?

“Actor Vijay should have aired his views and voiced his opposition to the videos from the Madurai Murugan Manadu that criticised Periyar and Anna. Those who advise him should have guided him appropriately,” Thiruma said at Chennai airport.

“If he continues to remain silent after such criticism of Periyar, the question arises whether he has genuinely embraced Periyar’s ideology or merely accepted it without conviction,” he wondered. The Dravidian icons were described as “Dravidian jackals” in the AV screened at the conference, and the Hindu outfit went on to declare its intent to end Dravidianism and revive “Theiviga Tamil Nadu”.

Coming down heavily on the AIADMK for attempting to downplay the derogatory remarks on Periyar and Anna at the politically motivated conference, Thiruma said the AIADMK’s claim of mere disagreement with such content was insufficient. “It should register its strongest condemnation against such denigrating remarks on Dravidian leaders. How can it continue its ties with the BJP, whose ultimate aim is to dismantle the Dravidian movement?” he asked.

Thiruma recalled the origins of state BJP president Nainar Nagendran, noting that he rose through the ranks of the AIADMK, an offspring of the Dravidian movement. Now, he has been saffronised and turned into a BJP figure. “It is part of the BJP’s long-term strategy to absorb the AIADMK,” he said, urging AIADMK leaders to identify the lurking danger and not lead their party into self-destruction by aligning with the BJP. It would ultimate to results in the decline of the prinicipal opposition that present has 65 members in the TN Assembly.

Turning his attention once again to political newcomer Vijay, Thiruma said that actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan had also once firmly stood against the Dravidian parties. However, he later shifted his stance for the larger good of the state, joining the DMK-led front after recognising that social justice is under threat and that there is a need to counter Hindutva and its politics of hate.

Thiruma declined to answer a question on VCK’s stand if  the PMK joined the DMK-led front, stating that he would not respond to a hypothetical question. However, he recalled that the VCK had allied with the PMK in the 2011 assembly elections. Since then, the parties have parted ways, particularly after the PMK’s so-called ‘social engineering’ policy, which he said was designed to malign and target the VCK.

“That situation compelled us to take a firm and definitive stand, and we continue to stand by it,” he said, making it clear that the VCK would not co-exist with the PMK in the same alliance.