Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay launched a sharp attack on the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) on Thursday, December 18, calling it an “evil force”, accusing the party of attempting to stifle his political growth in Tamil Nadu. He was addressing party workers at Vijayamangalam in Erode district. This was the actor-turned-politician’s first public meeting in Tamil Nadu since the Karur stampede in September, which claimed 41 lives.
“The DMK made several promises. They said gas cylinders would be sold for ₹100, NEET would be abolished, and educational loans would be waived. But their actions are completely contrary to their promises,” Vijay said.
He also accused the DMK government of failing to properly implement the Athikadavu–Avinashi water diversion scheme, which aims to channel surplus water from the Bhavani river to water bodies in Erode, Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts to support agriculture.
“Maybe that is a large project. But you also promised to clean Tamil Nadu’s rivers and allocate funds for it. Did you deliver? River cleaning has not happened, but the DMK seems efficient at river sand mining,” he alleged.
Responding to criticism over his speech in Kanchipuram, where he outlined TVK’s proposed welfare measures, Vijay said his ideas were deliberately misrepresented.
“In Kanchipuram, we spoke about what we would do if we came to power. They twisted our words. I am not against welfare schemes, but I oppose branding them as ‘freebies’ and shaming people. How is it a freebie to use people’s own money for their welfare?” he asked.
He cited housing, education, employment and women’s safety as examples. “We said everyone should have permanent housing. They said they have already achieved that. Then why are there renters? We said every family should have at least one graduate. But under whose government did school dropouts increase? Around 207 government schools have shut down because students are not enrolling,” he said.
“We said at least one person in every family should have stable employment. You promised so much work that there would be vacant workplaces. Where are they?” he asked.
On women’s safety, Vijay said, “We said women are unsafe. They claimed Tamil Nadu has the highest level of women’s security. Is that really true?”
Reflecting on the political legacy of former Chief Ministers MG Ramachandran (MGR) and J Jayalalithaa—who too were actors before joining politics—Vijay said he now understood the intensity of their criticism of the DMK. “Only now do I realise why they attacked the DMK so fiercely. The DMK is indeed an evil force. TVK is a force for good. This is a fight between the evil force of the DMK and the pure force of TVK,” he said.
Vijay also dismissed the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK), saying it was “not part of the electoral battle at all”.
Following the Karur tragedy, elaborate security arrangements were made for the meeting. Around 1,500 police personnel were deployed, along with 60 CCTV cameras. Party functionaries were equipped with nearly 40 walkie-talkies to manage crowd coordination. Additionally, 24 ambulances, a medical team comprising 72 doctors and 120 nurses, and four fire engines from Perundurai, Erode and Chennimalai were stationed at the venue.
As a precautionary measure, Erode District Collector S Kandasamy ordered the suspension of liquor sales between 12 pm and 4 pm in areas surrounding the venue, including Mettupudur, Perundurai, Seenapuram, Thudupathi, Vijayamangalam and Madathupalayam.
The Erode meeting was also TVK’s first public gathering in Tamil Nadu after former AIADMK leader KA Sengottaiyan assumed charge as Chief Coordinator of the party’s High-Level Administrative Committee. Notably, Erode is Sengottaiyan’s native district and a core region of the Kongu belt, which is politically significant and dominated by the Kongu Vellalar community.
The DMK had earlier entrusted charge of western Tamil Nadu to Minister Senthil Balaji as part of its strategy to strengthen its presence in the Kongu region.
