Thirumavalavan slams Vijay’s political entry, says real parties need ideals

Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) founder Thol Thirumavalavan on Saturday (October 11) criticised Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay, saying people were launching political parties to become "instant chief ministers".

He highlighted that a real party should have strong ideals and stand by them. He denied the notion that people from oppressed communities would follow the actor-turned-politician due to his stardom.

The VCK leader met reporters at Trichy airport before meeting the family members of the Karur stampede victims. The stampede at a TVK rally on September 27 claimed 41 lives. Alluding to Vijay, who is also a strident critic of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK), Thirumavalavan said people are starting political parties with the aim of becoming CM "instantly, at any cost".

"I am not saying this ambition is wrong, but this is the ambition of an average party. A real political party will have strong ideals and will stand by them even if it has no representatives in either the legislative assembly or Parliament," he added.

Also Read: TVK leaders abandoned victims, showed no remorse: Madras High Court

'Society underestimates oppressed castes'

He also said that when Vijay entered politics, some believed that people from the oppressed castes would flock to him just because he is an actor.

"They talked as if people from the oppressed castes do not have political ambition and that all they possess is herd mentality. Worse still, they vote for money. Society really underestimates them," he said, reiterating that his party, the VCK, has proved all those notions wrong by winning independently.

"We have shown these naysayers that our generation is different," he added.

Also Read: Why Vijay's TVK opposes state-run SIT probe into Karur stampede

'No one worried about my safety'

While addressing the incident involving his party men allegedly beating a motorist on a road, he stated that no one was concerned about how his safety was compromised. Earlier this week, a video of a man being attacked by the crowd circulated on social media. It was said that Thirumavalavan's car collided with a bike while moving in Chennai. After this video went viral, many politicians criticised Thiruvamavalan. BJP leader K Annamalai had called it a "display of hooliganism".

Explaining the sequence of events, Thirumavalavan said it all happened very fast. He also said one was worried about how the safety of a party leader was compromised when an unidentified man 'jumped' in front of his vehicle. "That man came out of nowhere, stood staring at us, saying things like 'I don't care who it is'. When the police asked him to step aside, he stared them down too," he claimed.

Also Read: VCK will push for more seats, but remain in DMK alliance: Thirumavalavan

Thirumavalavan also admitted that the man was beaten up by the bystanders, including his party workers. "But it was because of his arrogant attitude that the crowd beat him, not because he belonged to any particular caste or religion," he said, brushing off the incident by stating, "In any case, the beating was not serious, just four light smacks".

He claimed he advised his supporters not to make a big issue of it and let the man go.