VCK chief takes swipe at actor Vijay with 'instant CM' remark

Chengalpet (Tamil Nadu), Oct 11 (PTI) VCK founder and DMK ally Thol Thirumavalavan on Saturday took a swipe at actor-politician Vijay, saying people were launching political parties to become Chief Minister "instantly at any cost." Further, on the controversy surrounding his partymen allegedly assaulting a motorist following an altercation after his car reportedly brushed against a two-wheeler, in Chennai, the Lok Sabha MP said "the beating was not serious, just four light smacks".

Alluding to Vijay, founder of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), and also a strident critic of the ruling 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.

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

"They talked as if people from the oppressed castes don't have political ambition and that all that they possess is herd mentality. Worse still, that they vote for money. Society really underestimates them," he added.

According to him, his party Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK) has proved all those notions wrong by winning independently.

"We have shown these naysayers that our generation is different," added the MP. VCK claims to champion the voice of, mainly Dalits.

On the incident involving his car and the two-wheeler earlier, he said no one is worried about how the safety of a party leader is compromised when an unidentified man 'jumps' in front of his vehicle.

A video of the man being attacked by the crowd that was circulated in social media has led to many politicians hitting out at the VCK founder. BJP leader K Annamalai had called it a "display of hooliganism".

Explaining the sequence of events, Thirumavalavan said that it all happened very fast.

"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 at them also," the VCK chief claimed.

Thirumavalavan 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 up, not because he belonged to any particular caste or religion," he said.

"In any case, the beating was not serious, just four light smacks," he added.

He claimed he told his supporters not to make a big issue of it and let the man go. PTI JR SA