Chennai : In his first Independence Day address as Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, Vijay on Saturday called for breaking the “shackles” of caste and religion, saying true freedom would come when people overcome such divisions. “People start feeling united once they realise they have been kept like slaves. That’s when shackles like religion, caste break. This is real freedom. This is what happened under the leadership of Mahatma Gandhi,” Vijay said in his Independence Day address at Fort St George in Chennai.
The 52-year-old actor-politician said the spirit of the freedom struggle should continue to guide society. He said his government was also fighting for another form of freedom by working to rid Tamil Nadu of corruption. “Rescuing Tamil Nadu from corruption is also a form of freedom and that’s what our government is doing,” Vijay said, while appealing to government officials to work towards making the state corruption-free. The Tamil Nadu Chief Minister also spoke about his government’s relationship with the Centre, saying his administration would cooperate with the Centre on matters of governance but would not compromise when it came to Tamil Nadu’s interests.
Vijay said his government was also continuing welfare schemes introduced by previous administrations if they benefited the people. He cited Amma Unavagam, launched under the AIADMK government, and the breakfast scheme for schoolchildren introduced by the DMK government as examples. Appealing for public support, Vijay said voting alone was not enough and urged people to remain engaged with the government. “Please don’t think the job is done after voting. Now is when we need your support and only then can we implement schemes,” he said.
He also announced new measures for freedom fighters and their families and thanked the people of Tamil Nadu for what he described as their support in breaking barriers of caste, religion and money. “I salute the people of Tamil Nadu who have broken caste, religion, money, who have given us overwhelming support,” he said. Meanwhile, Vijay’s friend and actor Trisha Krishnan attended the Independence Day celebrations in Chennai. She was seated in the front row ahead of Vijay’s flag-hoisting ceremony.
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