Rivals plotting to keep me out, but won’t succeed: Vijay

Trichy: TVK president Vijay has said his political rivals were conspiring to disrupt his public meetings and prevent him from coming to power, but DMK would not be able to retain power. Addressing a public meeting at Ayyasamipatti near Sengipatti in Thanjavur district on Wednesday, he termed chief minister M K Stalin's confidence about returning to power for a second consecutive term as an ‘impossible task.' "It is far more difficult than building Great Wall of China. Even his father M Karunanidhi could not accomplish it," he said.Vijay said he entered politics with the sincere intention of working for the people, which was why his opponents were conspiring against him. "The core conspiracy is an arrangement between them to ensure that only one of them stays in power while blocking any third force. Vijay's entry into politics has made it impossible for them to continue deceiving the people," he said. "Once they realized their usual tactics were failing, one side started imposing SOPs to restrict me, while the other kept up the blame game to block my campaign meetings." "Sir, you may succeed in blocking this Vijay, but you cannot block every single Vijay in every household. They have already begun their campaign, and no one can stop them now," he said. Vijay said he does not have in-depth knowledge of agriculture, but fully understood the difficulties and struggles faced by farmers. In a veiled attack on Stalin, he said he would never pretend to be a ‘Deltakaaran just to mislead people.' The TVK leader asked what measures had the chief minister Stalin taken to protect paddy crops from rain damage, and advance river interlinking projects. "Apart from filing criminal cases against protesting farmers, have you ever truly stood by their side during their struggles," he asked. Referring to the murder of two people in Nanguneri on Monday, Vijay said Stalin continuing in power amounted to a complete mockery of law and order in the state.Criticizing DMK govt for building structures and statues in memory of M Karunanidhi, he said Supreme Court had termed it waste of public money. "You always cite financial burden when it comes to schemes that benefit the people. So where does the money come from to erect these statues," he said. Accusing the administration of complete inaction against sand mafias, he said, "Sand, minerals, water resources, and ultimately the entire state will face bankruptcy. The govt has already sunk deep in debt by taking endless loans."Promising that his govt would initiate major projects immediately upon taking office and ensure they are completed within the tenure, he alleged that the DMK govt was ‘laying foundation stones for projects only toward the end of its term.' On Stalin's response to fishermen's arrests, he said, "He gets up, writes a letter to the Union govt, and then goes back to sleep, leaving those letters to gather dust."