‘Take money, whistle’: Vijay double-takes attack on Stalin over cash payments, alliances | India News

New Delhi: Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) president and actor Vijay gave a high-voltage campaign speech in Salem on Friday while targeting two pressure points: the DMK government’s Rs 2,000 cash handout to women and what he called his own “political bombs” that have rattled Chief Minister MK Stalin.Addressing a cheering crowd, Vijay took aim at the DMK government’s cash transfer scheme for women, which gave out Rs 3,000 as an upfront payment and promised to release Rs 2,000 later. He claimed the move was aimed at swaying voters and framed the campaign in stark moral terms. “Will you vote for the ‘good’ TVK or the ‘evil’ DMK?” he asked, urging people to “take the money but expose it,” referring to his party’s electoral symbol.

“My vote is my right. No one can buy us. Our vote is for the whistle,” he said.Questioning the timing of what he described as a “summer bonanza”, Vijay said, “Does summer come only this year? This special allowance was announced because the whistle was heard in every street, in every home.” He claimed that Stalin was uneasy about TVK’s growing popularity, especially among women voters.The actor dismissed criticism that he lacked executive experience and made the accusation. “We have no robbery experience,” he quipped.

“Political bomb”

The speech came as Vijay also sent out a new political message on alliance issues. He claimed that his earlier promise to share power with allies had become a “political bomb” in Tamil Nadu. “Do you remember the political bomb I made at the Vikravandi rally? Proposing power sharing? It has now exploded recklessly across all alliances and CM Mr. Stalin is upset and he said power sharing is not suitable for Tamil Nadu,” he said.Vijay asserted that for the DMK, the alliance is just about winning and for all other things like governance, they will take care of it on their own.Stalin on Wednesday ruled out the possibility of forming a coalition government in the state, a suggestion floated by the Congress ahead of the upcoming assembly elections.“Power sharing is not suitable for Tamil Nadu,” the chief minister had said. “Both the Congress and the DMK have realized that power sharing will not work in Tamil Nadu. But there are people who are trying to drive a wedge between the two parties,” he said.The CMK, however, said the DMK will continue to be in alliance with the Congress. “There are those who are trying to destroy the alliance, but that’s not going to happen. We will face the election together.”The statement once again heightened tensions between the DMK and the Congress alliance, with Congress MP Manikam Tagore publicly hitting back after Stalin dismissed the power-sharing demand as a “conspiracy”. Tagore, one of the strongest proponents of shared governance in the Congress, questioned Stalin’s remarks in a line on