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On the threat posed by the culture of cash-for-votes in Tamil Nadu, actor and Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam (TVK) founder-president Vijay on Friday urged students and their parents to desist from

encouraging the monetisation of elections. At a mega function to honour board exam toppers from 88 assembly constituencies in the state at Poonjeri near the coastal heritage town of

Mamallapuram, the actor said, “There is a belief that by bribing the electorate, victory is ensured in elections. Even two years ago, I was warned of it. This culture should not be

encouraged. Tell your parents not to vote for cash. See what will happen next year (assembly election), loads of cash will be dumped in vehicles. All that is looted from you. I need not tell

you what to do and there is no need to emphasise that.” Advertisement Urging students not to fall prey to religious and casteist division, he said, “Caste and religion should not be allowed

to dictate you. drugs. Genuine democracy ensures equal opportunities for all. Ask your family members to exercise their democratic right by voting for those who are not tainted by

corruption and are trustworthy.” Advertisement Criticising the UPSC for a question in the Civil Services Preliminary Examination which carried the caste name of rationalist social reformer

and anti-caste crusader ‘Periyar’ EV Ramasamy, he said painting the iconoclast in casteist colour was condemnable. On NEET exams claiming many lives of students, the actor explained that

NEET is not everything in education as there many things that could be scaled and achieved. As such, parents should not exert pressure on their wards and instead guide them to realise their

dreams and inculcate scientific thinking and the spirit of inquiry. With the ruling DMK and the principal opposition AIADMK gearing up for the assembly election early next year, Vijay too

has sounded the poll bugle. He has launched his mass outreach beginning with a meeting of booth-level functionaries in Coimbatore earlier this month. He has been eying the Dravidian

political space by positioning as the alternative to the DMK. Even before launching the TVK, he has started honouring toppers selected from assembly constituency wise and this is seen as a

strategy of catching them young. The rest from among the 234 constituencies would be honoured in phases. Advertisement