Tirupur: Actor and TVK leader Vijay is being out of touch with reality and lacks understanding of Tamil Nadu politics, culture and public sentiment, said Union minister for commerce and industry and BJP’s election in-charge for Tamil Nadu, Piyush Goyal, on Friday.Addressing reporters after a meeting with industrialists in Tirupur, Goyal said though Vijay is a popular film star, electoral success requires work from the grassroot level. He added that recent film personalities have not succeeded in politics and predicted a similar outcome for Vijay. Expressing his confidence that the AIADMK-BJP alliance will form the govt in Tamil Nadu after the April 23 assembly election, Goyal said TVK may split votes but is unlikely to win more than a few seats as people don’t get swayed by film personalities. Earlier, Goyal held a meeting with representatives from more than 50 industry associations. Praising Tirupur’s remarkable growth at the meeting, Goyal said exports from Tirupur rose from ₹15 crore in 1985 to around ₹30,000 crore today, with total trade reaching ₹50,000 crore. He said the city generates employment for nearly 10 lakh people, both directly and indirectly. He said the Centre aims to boost India’s textile exports to $100 billion by 2030 and plans to replicate the Tirupur model by developing 75 similar textile hubs nationwide. The minister assured the industrialists that steps would be taken to stabilise rising cotton prices and address labour shortages. He also stressed the need for skill development to address workforce gaps and urged Tirupur industrialists to build global brands, with govt support. The Union minister said discussions are on with 24 countries for market access, including the GCC, Eurasia and Israel. The MSME definition has been expanded to exclude export turnover, encouraging growth.Tirupur Exporters’ Association president K M Subramanian said that the minister had assured to extend full support to the industries in Tirupur whenever needed.
