17th June 2023, Mumbai: One of the most well-known actors in Tamil film is Thalapathy Vijay. The actor is frequently in the news for his politics and the All India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam party, in addition to his work in films. The celebrity honoree recently presented diplomas to the Class 10 and Class 12 at a ceremony amid rumours of his foray into politics. In addition to reading about national luminaries like Dr. BR Ambedkar, Periyar, and Kamaraj, he counselled pupils not to cast their votes for financial gain.
Even while Vijay avoided making overt political allusions, he made it obvious that he disapproves of the way political parties are run and urged first-time voters to exercise caution. You are tomorrow’s voters, he said, warning them against accepting bribes in exchange for votes. “The leaders of the future will be chosen by you. By exchanging money for votes, we are sticking our fingers in our own eyes. Imagine a politician paying a voter in a constituency with 1.5 lakh voters Rs 1,000. Nearly 15 crores is how much he must have offered as a bribe. Consider how much a person must have made before giving a bribe of Rs. 15 crore! I want your educational system to incorporate all of this. If you go and convince your parents that they shouldn’t be paid to vote, something will change.”
The All Indian Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, his fan group, organised the felicitation function for Classes 10 and 12. On social media, a number of images and videos of the actor engaging with kids and accepting their gifts have gone viral. Fans admired the Leo actor’s simplicity as he sat among the students without throwing any starry-eyed fits. For the important occasion, he dressed in pants and a yellow shirt.
For the uninitiated, Vijay’s experienced director father SA Chandrasekhar founded the All India Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkam political party, serving as its general secretary and having his mother Shoba Chandrasekhar serve as its treasurer. The party changed its name to a humanitarian organisation, ran for local office in Tamil Nadu, and won. The actor personally congratulated the party members on gaining 115 seats after meeting them.
By Khushboo Singh