TVK Welcomes Rahul Gandhi’s 'Friendly Gesture'; Congress Rules Out Political Intent

Actor-politician Vijay’s Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) on Tuesday described Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s public support for Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan as a “friendly gesture”, while the Tamil Nadu Congress insisted that Gandhi’s remarks were directed solely at what it called the “undemocratic methods” of the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), with no political or electoral intent, according to PTI.

A senior TVK leader said Gandhi had been supportive of Vijay since the Karur stampede on September 27, 2025, and that his latest statement backing Vijay’s final film and opposing the Centre should be seen in that light, PTI reported. However, the leader declined to comment on any possible electoral alliance, stressing that such decisions rest entirely with the party chief.

The Tamil Nadu Congress Committee, meanwhile, maintained that Gandhi’s statement had nothing to do with Tamil Nadu politics. “Our leader Rahul’s statement hitting out at the I&B Ministry for its attempt to block Jana Nayagan is to unmask the real face of Modi-led government, which is not only undemocratic, but fascist and the statement has nothing to do with Tamil Nadu politics,” a senior Congress leader said, according to PTI.

He further asserted that in Tamil Nadu, the Congress party would only align with the DMK and that this position was “200 per cent clear”, adding that “there will be no change at all”.

Reiterating TVK’s position, a party leader said: “Right from the beginning, Rahul Gandhi is friendly towards our party founder leader Vijay. When the Karur stampede happened, he spoke to Vijay. Today, he has given this statement in support of ‘Jana Nayagan’ and opposing the Centre.” The leader added, “though we welcome the friendly gesture, we do not want to get into any speculation and all alliance decisions are only taken by our party chief.”

Earlier in the day, Gandhi said in a post on social media platform X that “the I&B Ministry’s attempt to block Jana Nayagan is an attack on Tamil culture.” “Mr Modi, you will never succeed in suppressing the voice of the Tamil people,” the Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha said.

According to PTI, the film’s producer, KVN Productions, has approached the Supreme Court challenging the January 9 interim order of the Madras High Court, which stayed a single-judge direction to grant CBFC clearance to the movie. Jana Nayagan, originally scheduled for release on January 9, has run into a censor row and is said to be Vijay’s final film before his full-fledged entry into politics.

Congress MP from Kanyakumari Vijay Vasanth supported Gandhi’s intervention, saying the Congress leader had rightly pointed out that the “theatrics” by the Central government would not succeed in undermining Tamil culture and its rich legacy. “We stand firmly with Jana Nayagan and our people. Attempts at autocracy and intimidation have no place here and will never work with us,” he said.

Reacting to the developments, TVK joint general secretary C T R Nirmal Kumar said there was “no change” in his party’s position of viewing the BJP as its ideological enemy. Asked whether the Congress was moving closer to an electoral understanding ahead of the 2026 Assembly election, he said, “it is for our leader to take a call on alliance.” He added, “Let Jana Nayagan be released. Tamil people, cinema artistes, technicians and those across the country want to watch Thalapathy Vijay’s last film peacefully without any obstacle.”

Meanwhile, Tamil Nadu BJP chief spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy criticised the Congress on X, saying the party termed the CBFC’s legal action as anti-democratic and against freedom of expression, while demanding a ban on the film Parasakthi, which he said was “itself anti-democratic and against freedom of expression”. “This is utterly shameful. It clearly shows to what extent the Congress party is ready to stoop to any level and compromise on all standards just for the sake of politics,” he said, PTI reported.

(With inputs from PTI)