Theeya Vs Thooya war: Vijay adopts MGR’s anti-DMK slogan
Addressing his first major open public meet after the Karur stampede on September 27, the actor-turned-politician said, “I repeat that the battle is only between ‘theeya sakthi’ and ‘thooya sakthi’.
Actor-politician Vijay (Photo: PTI)
COIMBATORE: Back on the ground to address a public meet in Erode, the first major event in the State after the Karur stampede in September, TVK president Vijay adopted anti-DMK phrases used by late AIADMK leaders MG Ramachandran and J Jayalalithaa to declare that the 2026 Assembly polls will be a battle between ‘theeya sakthi’ (evil force) DMK and ‘thooya sakthi’ (pure force) TVK.
Addressing his first major open public meet after the Karur stampede on September 27, the actor-turned-politician said, “I repeat that the battle is only between ‘theeya sakthi’ and ‘thooya sakthi’.
“Even MGR and Jayalalithaa used to describe DMK as an evil force,” he said, adding: “Both Anna and MGR are Tamil Nadu’s assets. No one can either claim ownership or complain about invoking their legacy. The DMK loots under the pretext of following Periyar’s principles.”
That was not the only invocation of the late AIADMK leaders. Listing out DMK’s unfulfilled poll promises, including scrapping NEET, waiving education loans, Rs 100 subsidy on cooking gas, Vijay echoed former chief minister Jayalalithaa’s style of asking the crowd, “sonnargale, senchangala? (They promised, but did they do?).
While all Dravidian outfits collectively claim Periyar’s legacy, Vijay’s calibrated appropriation of AIADMK founder MGR and his successor Jayalalithaa, whom the party celebrates as its mascots, is unlikely to go unchallenged.
“Why are you in jitters if TVK is not a concern? You trust in looted money, but I firmly believe in the support of people,” he said, adding that TVK will oppose only those in power and not those who are not in the contest,” he said.
Accusing the DMK of attempting to cripple him and his party, Vijay said that despite the extent of conspiracies hatched against him, people will stand firmly in his support. Following KA Sengottaiyan, many more will join TVK, and they will be given due recognition in the party, he said.
Claiming that farm lands in three districts will benefit if the Athikadavu- Avinashi scheme is expanded, Vijay asked, “Why don’t you show the same interest shown in ‘Valluvar Kottam’, for safeguarding the livelihood of people? Are you running a government or an exhibition?”
Referring to a folklore that the 13th-century chieftain Kalingarayan designed the Kalingarayan canal on the pathway shown by a snake in the Kongu region for a good cause, Vijay said, however, the present administrators are just spinning out stories without doing any good.
Pointing to DMK’s unfulfilled promise of interlinking of Noyyal, Amaravathi and Bhavani rivers and cleaning of rivers, and for not reducing peak hour electricity charges for the industrial sector, the TVK leader slammed DMK for its claim of running a ‘model’ government without resolving any of these issues.
Declaring that he is not against welfare schemes, Vijay said, “I am not against freebies, but I condemn belittling those schemes implemented with taxpayers' money.” He also slammed the deteriorating law and order and safety concerns of women in Tamil Nadu.
In a striking deviation from his past speeches, Vijay sparred the BJP-led union government without making any sharp and direct attack.
