Gloves off, DMK bigwigs train guns at Vijay
The big wigs of the DMK, who have so far been conspicuously silent in criticising actor Vijay, have started training their guns at the actor, who fired a blitz of verbal volleys against the ruling party at his party executive council meeting a few days ago.
TVK president VIjay (Photo credit: Justin George)
CHENNAI: After remaining soft for more than a year, the ruling DMK appears to have lifted the unofficial embargo on openly criticising fledgling Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) after the actor-politician’s latest rant against the party.
The big wigs of the DMK, who have so far been conspicuously silent in criticising actor Vijay, have started training their guns at the actor, who fired a blitz of verbal volleys against the ruling party at his party executive council meeting a few days ago.
Even the likes of principal secretary and senior minister KN Nehru have started responding to Vijay’s outrage against the Dravidian major. When reporters in Tirunelveli asked him a specific query on Vijay categorically ruling out an alliance with the DMK and BJP directly or indirectly, an otherwise reticent Nehru responded tersely: “We never invited Vijay’s party (TVK) to our alliance.”
Unlike his cabinet colleagues, Agriculture Minister MRK Panneerselvam, one of the zonal in-charges of the DMK for the Assembly polls, did not hold back. Talking to media persons on Sunday, a sharp-tongued Panneerselvam, responding to the same query, said, “This is not cinema. In cinema, we have sudden Chief Ministers or one-day Chief Ministers. Acting in cinema is different from understanding people’s sentiments and designing schemes. We (DMK) have won the goodwill of the people.”
The statement was soft by Panneerselvam’s standards. A couple of months ago, the outspoken district secretary ridiculed Vijay’s anti-corruption rhetoric without pulling any punches. In a veiled reference to Vijay's cinema trade, Panneerselvam accused the actor of taking black money while criticising corruption.
The DMK senior’s outburst, probably, was motivated by the acerbic tone of Vijay’s latest critique against the DMK during what seemed to be his signature quarterly meetings organised at his Panaiyur enclave.
The sudden burst of energy in the criticism of the DMK seniors vis-à-vis Vijay indicated a change of gear in their approach towards the political greenhorn, who could expect more in the run-up to the elections.
