TIRUCHY/CHENNAI/MADURAI: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) chief Vijay terming Chief Minister MK Stalin as “uncle” during his public meeting in Madurai on Thursday has drawn criticism from various quarters, including the DMK and its allies, NTK, and the BJP.
Hitting back, DMK principal secretary and Municipal Administration Minister KN Nehru on Friday said his party would give Vijay a fitting reply in the 2026 election.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an event in Tiruchy, Nehru said, “Vijay’s standard is only that much. A person who has just entered politics is stooping low by calling a chief minister who has been in politics for 40 years and is the leader of a major party as uncle. People will give him a fitting reply.”
“Can anyone say whatever they want if 10 or 50 people gather? This is not right. A chief minister must be respected,” he said.
In a post on X, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam said, “Instead of offering policy-based criticism, he (Vijay) resorted to a low-level comment, which is condemnable. His speech only revealed he is yet to rise from being an actor to the stature of a political leader,” he charged.
Meanwhile, NTK chief coordinator Seeman said, “If you (Vijay) want to lead, first tell people what you will do when you are in power. Instead of that, you are putting up portraits of Anna and MGR. Anna created the DMK, MGR founded the AIADMK, but you claim you want to eliminate the DMK, Anna’s party.”
Speaking to reporters at Thoothukudi airport, former state president of BJP K Annamalai said Vijay should mind his language. “Calling CM as mama in films may look good, what if DMK cadre called him a boomer? Vijay should use his words properly,” he said.
Responding to allegations raised by TVK about DMK’s efforts to hinder their two state conferences, Minister P Moorthy said, “The DMK, myself or a cadre will never engage in such an act of disrupting others. He was speaking to the media on the sidelines of the inauguration of the new bus stand at Kottampatti, Madurai.
Meanwhile, former AIADMK minister Sellur K Raju said the actor-politician should not compare himself with MG Ramachandran. “Vijay dreams of going to Fort St George directly. It is not like instant sambar and fast food. He has to learn a lot about politics,” he said.