Amid reports of his political entry, Tamil superstar Vijay addressed a massive gathering of school students at the Thalapathy Vijay Education Award Ceremony on Saturday in Chennai. The event was organized to honor students with the highest scores in the state public examinations of grades 10 and 12 and is seen as a prelude to a much bigger gathering that the actor is said to have planned for college students in the coming years. months.
His speech emphasized the importance of critical thinking and education. While keeping quiet about his own political plans, he called out audience members as young voters and spoke to them about ethical voting practices.
During his speech, Vijay spoke candidly about his own academic journey, saying that he was not a bright student like those in the audience. He also spoke about the importance of “lifelong learning” beyond the “rigid academic system and textbooks”.
“I was a person who did not prefer to read, but loved to listen to people who had read books. Now it has changed and I am enjoying this process,” he said.
Saying that “real education should not be limited to textbooks”, Vijay advised students to “learn as much as they can from all sources”. Asking students to read about everything, including our leaders, Vijay said they should read about leaders like (Bhimrao) Ambedkar, Periyar and (K) Kamaraj. “Take the good and leave the rest. I think that’s the message I have for you to take home,” he said.
Thalapathy to Nandini, a student from Dindigul district who scored 600/600 marks in 12th general examination and stood first in Tamil Nadu. @actorvijay They gave gifts and incentives.!Delivery of the #TVMIEducation Awards #LEO (1/2) pic.twitter.com/BVrfcsLP8q
— Thalapathy Vijay Makkal Iyakkham (@TVMIoffl) June 17, 2023
Vijay also called the audience, comprising students of the school and their parents, as the “voters of tomorrow”. He went on to talk about “the responsibility of young voters to the nation” and the widespread practice of “cash for votes”.
Talking about cash distribution during elections, Vijay said, “Rs 1,000 per vote means if there are around 1.5 lakh voters in a constituency, a candidate pays Rs 15 crore to buy votes. How much money would he have earned then to bribe 15 million rupees to voters?” Vijay said.
He then urged students to speak out against the practice.
“All students in Tamil Nadu should go to their parents and say, ‘Appa, Amma, never cast your votes for the money bribed by politicians.’ Try it, I say… I firmly believe it will work if you try. In fact, your education only serves a purpose when you can do these things,” said Vijay.
He then proceeded to talk about social media and fake news.
“We used to say that your friends reflect your character. Now it’s like the social media page you follow reflects your character,” Vijay said. “There is a section of people on social media with an agenda: to steal our attention with clickbait, most of which is also fake news,” he said.
After years of teasing the idea of joining politics, Vijay may finally be taking the plunge. Sources close to the actor told The Indian Express that he was looking to launch his party after the 2024 Lok Sabha elections and might contest the 2026 Tamil Nadu Assembly polls.
