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Tamil actor and founder-president of Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK), Vijay, on Friday, May 30, held a meet-and-greet session to felicitate students who had recently passed Class 10 and 12. The event was held at a private convention center in Mahabalipuram near Chennai.
Speaking at the event, Vijay advised students not to confine themselves to a single stream of academic education.
“Is the National Eligibility-cum-Entrance Test (NEET) the only thing in the world? This world is truly vast. And there are so many different things you can achieve in it,” he said.
Encouraging students to learn about democracy, he said it was the only way to ensure equal opportunity for all. He added that the first step is to urge everyone at home to take their democratic duties seriously.
Taking a dig at ruling political parties, Vijay warned students against accepting bribes for votes.
“Doing your democratic duty is not some huge act. It is just about choosing trustworthy, honest leaders who have not been corrupt. But today, there are people who think they can just buy votes with money and win. Please don’t encourage that culture. Don’t take money for your vote. But see what happens next year—truckloads of money will be distributed. And all of that money is the same money that was looted from you,” he said.
He also urged students to reject divisive thinking based on caste and religion.
“Did farmers ever check caste or religion before growing crops? Do labourers check caste or religion before producing goods? Does nature—like sunlight or rain—have caste or religion? Just like we have pushed drugs far away from our lives, we must push caste- and religion-based divisions just as far or farther,” he said.
Responding to the recent controversy over the UPSC exam, where a question referenced social reformer Periyar by his caste name, the TVK chief said,
“Today in the Union Civil Services exams, people are even trying to paint Periyar with a caste colour. We strongly condemn this.”