Vijay’s maiden political day out fixed

Chennai:In what could be described as his maiden political day out with common people, founder president of Tamilaga Vetri Kazhagam (TVK) Vijay would meet the people protesting against the setting up of a new airport at Parandur in Kanchipuram district on Monday between noon and 3 pm and discuss the controversy that has been raging since 2022.

Vijay is expected to interact with the people of nine villages including Parandur, Egnapuram, Nagapattu and Nelvai that would be worst affected by the land acquisition process initiated by the State government for setting up the second airport for Chennai.

The people of about 20 villages have been on a warpath against losing their house, land and livelihood ever since the site at Parandur was announced as the Union Government choice for the Greenfield airport. By coming together to resist the government move, the people have formed a protest committee that would hold talks with Vijay when he calls on them on Monday.

The police who granted permission for Vijay’s rendezvous with the protest committee members, has, however, barred people from any village other than the nine identified for the purpose and would not allow anyone else from reaching Eganapuram, the venue for Monday’s meeting.

The protest that began in 2022 has seen the people moving heaven and earth to shift the site of the project to an alternative location in vain. Now that the land acquisition process had started and the protest had shown signs of dying with many people reconciling to the fact that they cannot escape from losing their land, Vijay had evinced interest in throwing his weight behind the affected people.

A posse of over 700 police personnel have been engaged to screen the people travelling to Eganapuram through the two routes, one via Sunguvarchatram and the other from Kanchipuram, and not allow anyone from the nine villages from reaching there on Monday.

This public appearance of Vijay would be the third of its kind after the launch of his party at Vikravandi in October, 2024, and the meeting organized at a closed hall, strictly for invitees, by a publishing house for the launch of a book on B R Ambedkar in December, 2024.

Otherwise, Vijay has been having his meetings only with party leaders mostly at his party headquarters in Panaiyur, which was also the venue for distributing aid to people affected by rains.