TVK Rallyโ inโ Trichy Sparks Traffic Chaos and Politicalโฃ Criticism
A recent roadshow by the Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK), led by actor Vijay, caused significant traffic disruption in Trichyโฃ city on [Date – implied from context, needs to be added if known].โฃ Theโค rally, permittedโ by police โขto run between 10:30 am and 11:00 am, experienced substantial delays,โ with Vijay arriving at the Marakkadai venue around โฃ3:00 pm – nearly five hours late.
The โคslow pace of the campaign vehicle, surrounded by thousands of supporters, โledโ to severe traffic congestion โขacross trichy, impacting major roadways includingโฃ the Tiruchy-Pudukkottai โขand Tiruchy-Chennai National Highways. Areasโ particularly affected included โTVS Tollgate,โ Head Post Officeโข Junction, Melapudur, Palakkarai, Thennur, โฃGandhi Market, and Court road. Congress Rajya Sabha โขMP โคand โขformer finance minister P.โ Chidambaram was among those caught โขin the resulting gridlock. The disruption โฃalso heavily โimpacted publicโ transport, as Marakkadai serves โขas a crucial bus hub connectingโค the city’s โคCentral and Chathiram bus stands.
The event drew criticism from multiple political figures.โ Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) president M.K. Stalin, in โa letter to DMKโฃ cadresโ invitingโค them to a September 17th event in Karur, subtly criticized the TVK. Stalin emphasized the DMK’s commitment to principled gatherings, stating,โฃ “DMK is a party thatโ holds gatherings based on โฃprinciples. Our โฃcadres โฃdo not โคcause disturbances or inconvenience the public. weโฃ assemble โคwith ideological โcommitment and disperse as warriors of those ideals.”
Natakadhira Thozhilalargal Kazhagam (NTK) president Seeman commented on the largeโฃ crowds, noting the historical precedentโ of actors drawing public support. “whenโค an actor comes off of โขthe screen crowdsโ will gather. MGR,โข Sivaji Ganesan all drewโ crowds.Ajith or Rajinikanth or โคNayantharaโฃ would draw greaterโฃ crowds. look atโ the politics they put forward, not the crowd,” he stated.
BJP’sโฃ state youth wing president, Vinoj B Selvam, also voiced criticism, stating the situation was “scary” andโข blaming the DMK โขfor “intoxicating โthe minds of youth using cinema as a toolโฆfor their personal ideological propaganda and โฃalso to increase their wealth using their production โhouses.” He further asserted that mannyโข TVK supporters were a โ”product ofโข this misadventure.”