From one actor-politician to another: Pawan Kalyan hails Vijay’s maiden rally

Actor and Andhra Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Pawan Kalyan on Monday congratulated actor Vijay day after the Tamil superstar held his first political rally in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram.
“My heartfelt congratulations!! to Thiru @actorvijay avl (sic), for embarking on a political journey in Tamilnadu, the land of Saints & Siddhars,” Kalyan tweeted.
The Jana Sena Party chief was returning the gesture by Vijay who had congratulated Kalyan for winning the Pithapuram constituency in the Andhra Pradesh assembly elections held in June earlier this year. Kalyan had played a vital role in the formation of the coalition government of his Jana Sena Party, N Chandrababu Naidu’s Telugu Desam Party and BJP in state.
Popularly known as Thalapathy Vijay, the flamboyant 50-year-old actor had launched his party Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) eight months ago. In his maiden political speech on Sunday, he ripped into the ruling DMK and the BJP, without naming the parties.
Vijay accused the DMK of corruption, alleging that “one family” was exploiting the people of Tamil Nadu through secret deals.
The TVK founder also targeted the BJP without naming the party. “There is one group that has been singing the same tune here. They try to paint the same colour (saffron) on anyone new who enters politics. They try to fool the people. But they have underground dealings. They keep talking about fascism,” said.
He continued, “They create a fear of majority and minority amongst people of Tamil Nadu who live in harmony and unity. If you accuse them (BJP) of fascism, then are you (DMK) ‘payasam’ (sweet dish)? Anti-people government is being dubbed as the Dravidian model of government and you are fooling people. Don’t paint any colour on anyone who opposes you.”
The DMK, led by Chief Minister MK Stalin, denied these claims, stating there was no evidence of corruption against their party.
Speaking at TVK’s first public conference in the state at Vikravandi, Vijay explained TVK’s ideology. According to him, his party’s ideology drew inspiration from social justice icons of Tamil Nadu, such as EVR Periyar and K Kamaraj.