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Vijay holds first TVK rally in Puducherry amid heavy security
In his Puducherry campaign, Vijay criticized the BJP and the Union government for neglect, while praising the local government's security measures.
In his first campaign in Puducherry, actor-politician Vijay refrained from attacking Puducherry chief minister and All India N R Congress (AINRC) leader N R Rangasamy but continued to attack its coalition partner, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
Vijay accused the Union government of failing Puducherry by not providing statehood, development projects, an IT park and even basic facilities such as parking spaces.
“For the Union government, Tamil Nadu is a separate state, and Puducherry is a separate Union Territory. But for us, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry are one and the same. I thank the Puducherry government for providing full security for this meeting even though we are a different party. The Tamil Nadu government should learn from the impartial government in Puducherry,” Vijay said in his first public meeting since the stampede in Karur on September 27.
“But they won’t learn now. They will learn in the next election (2026 assembly elections). The BJP despite being in a coalition is not taking care of Puducherry. The Union government has not fulfilled Puducherry’s demand for statehood… Don’t believe the DMK either here.”
There was also a brief scare when security stopped a man with a handgun from entering the premises. Police said that the man said he was holding a licensed pistol as one of the guards for a party secretary.
The Rangasamy government had earlier refused Vijay permission to hold a rally but allowed him to hold a public meeting in an open space. Only 5000 residents of the Union Territory, who were each given QR codes, were allowed inside the Uppalam Expo Ground and residents of Tamil Nadu were not allowed to enter. But, as the crowd swelled, police were seen restricting entry.
Vijay drew a parallel with matinee idol and former chief minister M G Ramachadran’s journey of founding the ADMK (later AIADMK). “MGR formed the AIADMK government in Tamil Nadu in 1977. But three years before that he formed the AIADMK government in Puducherry first,” Vijay said. “The people here have supported me for 30 years,” he said.
