Chennai: When it comes to getting the right mix of ingredients to spice up the right balance in politics, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister and former actor C Joseph Vijay appears to have the right recipe. And his political culinary skills were on full display on Saturday when he hosted lunch for Rahul Gandhi the Leader of the Opposition in Lok Sabha, whose Congress helped him for the Government after the electorate threw up a hung Assembly this summer.
Vijay Hosts Rahul Gandhi
Not just that after the one-on-one meeting at his plush bungalow on the East Coast Road, Vijay and Rahul drove down together to a scenic and posh cafe to order tiramisu, cappucino and some cookies. The two even posed for the selfies with the surprised patrons. And after the “brotherly bonding”, Rahul took a short break at a star hotel and moved on to his next engagement to address students at the Island Grounds as part of his ‘Chchatro Ki Goonj’ campaign.
While Rahul, who until some months ago reserved such caring bonding for his “elder brother” M K Stalin (DMK leader), would fly back to New Delhi; Vijay would prepare for his next round of public appearance on Sunday, when he would take a Metro Rail ride with Prime Minister Narendra Modi from Porur to Poonamallee, which would be inaugurated by the latter. So, essentially, he would be ensuring that while he politically handles his alliance partner, as Chief Minister he would keep the man at the Centre in good humour too by extending the niceties of protocol.
So far, Vijay has managed to walk the tight rope without attracting undue attention. While he needs the Congress to hold on to the reigns of Fort St George, Vijay can’t afford to openly face off with Modi like his predecessor M K Stalin, who was vocal in his opposition to the BJP.
The actor-politician has no doubt identified the BJP as his “ideological opponent” but been guarded in criticising the Centre or Modi. His criticism has been measured unlike his no-holds barred attack on “Stalin uncle” or “Stalin sir”. Even on the ongoing agitation on SIR and against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Vijay hasn’t publicly spoken his mind. Only his party issued a statement disapproving of Rahul Gandhi’s arrest recently. The optics will now shift to Sunday.
