Chennai, 23 June

Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C Joseph Vijay on Tuesday lashed out at the Opposition DMK on corruption, and for labelling TVK as inexperienced and straight from film, saying his decades-old grassroots track record stretching back to his fan clubs in the 1990s shaped his standing in politics and state administration.

His active service to the people continued in the form of Vijay Makkal Iyakkam, his public advocacy during the 2002 Sri Lankan Tamil crisis, the 2011 Nagapattinam fishermen protests, the 2017 Jallikattu movement and his anti-CAA stance highlighted his active role in public life.

His political journey was long, overcoming several roadblocks, including the blame for the Karur stampede that left 41 dead, the agony over the then government imposing numerous restrictions on his TVK meetings and inadequate protection, and hurdles imposed to prevent him from meeting the people, Vijay said.

He did not transition from acting career to politics effortlessly but had to face several agonising trials, he said in his reply to the debate on the motion of thanks to the Governor for his address to the House.

His blistering attack targeting the DMK on the corruption plank led to the opposition party members under their leader Udhayanidhi Stalin rising up from their seats and demanding proof.

Udhayanidhi urged Speaker JCD Prabhakar to permit him to respond, but the Speaker declined, ultimately leading to the DMK members staging a walkout from the Assembly House after an uproar.

Responding to the opposition barb that the newly formed Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam government lacked experience and that its legislators don't possess "administrative knowledge", the chief minister sarcastically remarked, "You are right, we don't have the knowledge to loot public money. We know how to protect natural resources but not to plunder, we know to float tenders for projects but not for kickbacks, we know how to serve the people and devotees but not how to exploit temple funds."

The TVK government would ensure the money in the state coffers went directly to the people and not diverted as "party funds", which the previous DMK regime had done, Vijay said and warned that he would not spare anyone indulging in corrupt practices, even if it is political parties.

He later remarked that his administration would be real and not reel that the opposition has been talking of, and slammed the opposition for calling him an actor and his TVK an actor's party.

The 2026 Assembly election exposed the real picture that he and the TVK were in the people's hearts. He remained one with the people and then launched the TVK two years ago, unlike other leaders who launch the party first and then try to connect with the people. He expressed his heartfelt gratitude to the people of Tamil Nadu for electing him and his party.

Acknowledging the presence of 12 different parties in the Assembly, he said, despite their ideological and political differences, their primary and shared goal was to serve the people.

"I express my gratitude to the people of Tamil Nadu. Serving the people is our duty. Even if we differ in our opinions, we must unite and work together for the welfare of the people. My thanks to the people of Perambur and Tiruchirappalli East (from where he contested)," he said.

"Some people say that I came directly from a film shooting set to become chief minister. In their own language, I would say that is just a 'reel'. We carried out various welfare schemes for the public. Through our films, we spoke about social justice and opposition to corruption. We have personally visited and supported the anti-Sterlite protest," Vijay said.

He further stated that the present TVK regime was a government of ordinary people, just as one witnessed during the rule of former Chief Minister CN Annadurai and MG Ramachandran. The TVK demolished religion and caste barriers in the 2026 polls.