It was a time-tested strategy of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and DMK president M Karunanidhi to send telegrams to New Delhi to press the Union government on various issues.
On Tuesday, Vijay, addressing a protest in Nagapattinam to condemn the killings of Tamil fishermen, urged his fans to send telegrams to Karunanidhi and also to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, over the issue.
Accusing the Centre and State governments of being mute spectators to indiscriminate attacks on fishermen, the 'Ilaya Thalapathi' said Tamils should come together whenever there is a problem to fellow Tamils.
Meanwhile, frenzied fans scrambled on to the stage and when the crowd got unmanageable, police used mild force to keep them away. Even Vijay got irked at one point of time and walked out of the stage. Later, office-bearers of his Makkal Iyakkam pacified the actor and brought him back to the stage.
Vijay Protest in Nagapattinam Gallery, Vijay Photos in Nagapattinam rally
Vijay forayed into the world of politics on the 22nd of February by holding a protest meet attended by around 25000 fans from across the state,. The meet was held at the VDP College Grounds in Nagapattinam which saw the actor condemn the activities of Sri Lankan Navy against the innocent Tamil Nadu fishermen.
The meet did have a jittery begging as rains played a spoilsport which delayed the event expected to begin at 4 pm by almost an hour. Fans had swarmed the place and were too close to the stage where Vijay had to deliver his speech. As Vijay entered the podium energy levels were so high that it resulted in the microphone wire being snapped which saw a mild lathi charge followed after fans attempted to ransack the stage. Disturbed Vijay walked back without uttering a word. Later after the crowd calmed down the actor made a re-entry and voiced out his opinion on the sensitive issue of the fishermen. And the gathering also observed a minute’s silence over the demise of Parvathy, mother of slain LTTE leader Prabakaran.
The hero requested his fans to send out a Telegram to the Prime Minister and the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister to bring a solution to the critical situation, and take action against recurrent “Sri Lankan attacks. While Vijay handed over a solatium of Rs.2 lakh to the family of the Pushpavanam-based fisherman allegedly killed in Sri Lankan naval attack. Chief Guest father SA Chandrasekhar handed over Rs.50, 000 each to 2 families while 10 other families were provided with Rs.10000 each along with some fishing equipment.
With this public event Vijay has established his first solid political step.
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