Chennai: VCK leader Thol Thirumavalavan on Friday defended chief minister C Joseph Vijay’s silence on Union govt’s various policies against state autonomy and the Mekedatu issue, stating that the CM is following a “talk less and work more” formula.He was speaking in a joint press meet with TNCC president Manickam Tagore and minister S Rajesh Kumar. Tagore had called on the VCK chief at his Velachery residence.When asked about Vijay’s silence over issues pertaining to BJP and Union govt, Thirumavalavan said, “He is not restricting us from expressing our views on Mekedatu and other state issues. VCK, Congress, and the Left parties are voicing their opinions on such matters. The CM remaining silent shows that he is endorsing our views.”“Everyone has a different approach. The present CM follows the ‘talk less, work more’ formula,” he said while responding to a question contrasting former chief minister M K Stalin’s sharp responses to Union govt on various issues.Thirumavalavan also defended TVK govt’s stance on providing govt jobs to the families of the 41 Karur stampede victims who died during a TVK rally in Karur on Sept 27 last year. “It has been VCK’s long-standing demand to provide govt jobs to the families of victims of such tragedies. A govt job should be considered a source of livelihood for the victim’s family,” he said.Tagore, too, justified TVK govt’s gesture, noting that those who lost their lives were not only Vijay’s fans but also innocent citizens.On his series of meetings with alliance party leaders, including CPM state secretary P Shanmugam, Tagore said that these were state-level courtesy visits. “As we are in the INDIA bloc, we are all working together against the RSS, BJP, Prime Minister Modi, and Union home minister Amit Shah. We all hope that we will stop BJP from entering Tamil Nadu,” he said.
