Tiruchirappalli (Tamil Nadu) [India], April 2 : Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay on Thursday termed the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) government an "evil force," asking the voters to "throw it" out of power in the Tamil Nadu Assembly election.
Addressing a public meeting in Tiruchirappalli after filing his nomination as party candidate from Tiruchirappalli East, Vijay accused the DMK of not fulfilling the poll promises they made in 2021.
He also garlanded a statue of former Chief Minister and AIADMK founder MG Ramachandran after filing his nomination.
"This evil force, DMK, which cannot even ensure your safety or provide basic facilities, what should we do with it? Shall we throw it out?" the TVK president said.
He assured the public that he would not make false promises like Chief Minister MK Stalin.
Vijay said, "You said that MK Stalin would provide a subsidy of Rs 100 per cylinder, what happened to that? You said the NEET exam would be cancelled. What happened to that? All the things that Stalin could not actually implement were given as false promises. He has now come up with yet another false promise. Unlike Stalin, I will not make false promises. We will understand the needs of the people and act accordingly."
Further, the TVK leader accused the Centre and the state government of a reported shortage of commercial LPG cylinders amid the West Asia conflict.
"How is the gas issue now? Has everything been resolved? Due to the gas shortage, how many problems have arisen? How many tea shops have shut down? How many hotels have closed? If they had been more cautious and taken preventive measures, could the gas shortage have been controlled? Only two people (the Union and the state government) are responsible for the gas shortage," he stated.
Vijay is contesting from two seats, Perambur and Trichy East- against DMK's incumbent MLAs RD Sekar and Inigo S Irudayaraj, respectively. The Perambur constituency used to be a CPI(M) bastion till 2016. RD Sekar has held the seat since winning the bypolls in 2019.
TVK has promised "anti-drug protection zones" and a monthly assistance for students. Unveiling the manifesto, Vijay announced a monthly assistance of Rs 4,000 for graduates and Rs 2,000 for diploma holders.
Tamil Nadu will go to the polls in a single phase on April 23, covering a total of 234 constituencies in the State. Counting of votes is scheduled for May 4.
The main electoral contest in the State is expected between the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK)-led Secular Progressive Alliance (SPA), and the NDA led by AIADMK. However, actor-turned-politician Vijay will look to turn it into a three-way contest.