TVK chief Vijay slams Stalin, BJP over Tamil Nadu fishermen issue

Chennai, Sep 20 (IANS) Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder and actor Vijay on Saturday stepped up his political attack during the second phase of his State-wide tour, accusing Chief Minister M.K. Stalin of using foreign visits for “personal investments” rather than bringing industries to Tamil Nadu.

Addressing a massive gathering at the Puthur roundabout near the Anna Statue in Nagapattinam, Vijay asked pointedly, “Are these foreign trips to attract investment to the State or to secure personal investments abroad?” He charged that despite claims of big-ticket projects, districts like Nagapattinam continued to suffer from underdevelopment.

Vijay was particularly sharp on the issue of fishermen’s rights. Criticising both the BJP and the DMK, he alleged that the Centre adopted a “politics of exclusion,” treating fishermen from other States as “Indians” while branding those from Tamil Nadu as merely “Tamil fishermen.” He accused the Chief Minister of confining himself to letter-writing on such matters without taking concrete follow-up action.

The TVK leader accused the DMK government of indirectly threatening him by imposing restrictions on his campaign. “We are told how to sit inside the bus, how high to raise our hands, and are allotted congested spaces instead of open grounds. Chief Minister, sir, are you threatening me?” Vijay asked, declaring that he would not be intimidated. “Instead of being a bogeyman, face me directly in the elections,” he said.

He also recalled that in the first leg of his campaign, his meeting in Tiruchi was disrupted after the speaker's wire was allegedly cut, and in Ariyalur, a power outage occurred before his arrival. “Would such treatment be meted out to Prime Minister Narendra Modi or an RSS leader? No, because there is a hidden relationship between them (the DMK and BJP),” he alleged.

Explaining his decision to campaign on weekends to avoid public inconvenience, Vijay said he was proud to begin this leg from Nagapattinam, which, he noted, represents Tamil Nadu’s working-class traditions in fisheries and farming and reflects a multicultural ethos. Blaming the DMK government for neglect, he pointed to drinking water shortages, the absence of a fish processing centre, poor facilities at the Nagapattinam bus stand, vacant posts at the Nagore Andavar Government Hospital maternity ward, and paddy left exposed at direct purchase centres due to a lack of storage.

He also demanded regulation of prawn farms to safeguard traditional fisherfolk and urged the State to develop Velankanni and Nagore into tourist hubs. Vijay reminded the crowd that his political involvement was not new, noting his consistent advocacy for fishermen’s rights since 2011 and his support for Sri Lankan Tamils. He apologised to the people of Perambalur, where he could not campaign last week due to “restrictions,” but promised to return.

The actor-turned-politician’s sharp remarks signalled an intensifying rivalry with both the ruling DMK and the BJP, as his TVK looks to expand its grassroots base in the run-up to the 2026 Assembly elections.

--IANS

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