NEW DELHI: Tamil Nadu chief minister Vijay on Tuesday pushed back against critics who had dismissed the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) as merely an “actor’s party”, arguing that its rise to power was built on years of activism and public engagement. In a wide-ranging assembly speech, Vijay brushed aside claims that he had moved straight from film sets to politics as a “reel” narrative, recalled the party’s opposition to the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA), and referred to the Karur stampede controversy as he reflected on the challenges faced during TVK’s political journey. “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’,” ANI quoted him saying.“Most people start a political party first and then go to the people. We went to the people first and only then started our party. Those who fail to understand this are the ones who dismiss us as merely an actor’s party. In the 2026 election, we contested alone without any alliance,” he added.Defending his party on allegations regarding Karur stampede, he said, “In Karur, 41 people lost their lives, and the blame was placed on us. Is this how politics should be conducted? “Vijay then listed a series of social and political causes that he said he and his supporters had championed long before launching TVK.“In 2011, we organised a public meeting in support of fishermen and voiced our concerns on their behalf. We extended our support to the Jallikattu protest. We personally visited and supported the Sterlite protest. We provided scholarships and incentives to meritorious students in education. After all this, we launched the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK). We also issued statements opposing the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA),” he said.While saying TVK did not subscribe to Periyar’s rejection of religion, Vijay said the party had embraced the broader principles associated with the Dravidian icon.“Periyar’s rejection of religious belief is not something we accepted, but we fully embraced his broader principles. We have always made it clear that we are not opposed to anyone’s ideology. We accepted Dr Ambedkar’s ideals of equal opportunity and social justice. We adopted Kamarajar’s model of honest administration as our guiding principle. We clearly identified who our political opponents were and who our ideological opponents were,” he said.Positioning his administration as one that represents ordinary citizens, Vijay invoked former chief ministers C N Annadurai and M G Ramachandran. “Just as there was a government of ordinary people under Anna and a government of very ordinary people under MGR, this government under Vijay is a government of the most ordinary people,” he said.Responding to the governor’s speech, Vijay thanked the people of Tamil Nadu and said serving them remained his government’s foremost responsibility.In 2024, Vijay formally entered electoral politics with the launch of the Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) and began winding down his film career to devote himself to public service. In 2026, his party won the Tamil Nadu assembly elections and formed government in alliance with Congress, Left and other regional parties.