- 41 minutes ago
Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay concludes his week-long official tour of the United Kingdom, where the state government signed memoranda of understanding worth twelve thousand three hundred crore rupees, projected to generate over nine thousand four hundred jobs.
Category
🗞
NewsTranscript
00:00Hello and welcome. Good evening. You're watching Super 6 here on India Today.
00:03I'm Akshra Tananda Gopal. Over the next one hour, we'll get you all the big headlines coming in from the
00:08southern states.
00:09So let's begin by giving you a sense of what we have lined up for you this evening.
00:16We'll begin by focusing on the highlights of Chief Minister Vijay's London visit.
00:20This is the last leg. He returns back to Chennai tomorrow morning.
00:24So was this visit a success or failure?
00:27What are the investments that were brought in? The big headline moments?
00:30All of the photo ops. We'll decode all of that for you on this edition of Super 6.
00:37Also, coming up on the show, we'll talk about the endless civic infrastructure wars of Bengalurians.
00:44One man decided to do something about it, taking matters into his own hands after multiple complaints and no action.
00:50He's decided to use his own money to fix the footpaths of the city.
00:55We'll get you his reaction and also what the government has to say about this.
01:02But as promised, our top focus is on Chief Minister Vijay's trip to London.
01:08For his fans, he's still there at Talapati.
01:11And we saw that craze play out of the streets of London like never before.
01:16Vijay is now wrapping up his week-long UK tour, heads back to Chennai tomorrow.
01:21His London fans were hoping for one last chance to meet their superstar.
01:25And so they gathered in large numbers on the streets of London.
01:29The fan meet had to be cancelled as a result because of public safety concerns.
01:33Disappointed fans gathered outside his hotel, hoping to catch a glimpse of Vijay.
01:38The crowds got so overwhelming, the police had to intervene.
01:41They couldn't control the crowd.
01:43And so the Chief Minister's security stepped in, made a public appeal asking everyone to disperse.
01:47And so that meeting didn't happen.
01:50Here's a look at the Vijay fan frenzy that played out, believe it or not, all the way in London.
02:05For Talapati Vijay, one challenge has persisted for long.
02:10Managing the massive crowds of his fans.
02:17Hundreds of Vijay fans gathered outside the Shard in London on Tuesday, hoping for a glimpse of their leader.
02:24But as the crowd swelled, the police had to intervene.
02:28The event was eventually called off, citing concerns over crowd management and public safety.
02:52Vijay's party, TVK appealed to supporters not to attempt to meet him and specifically asked fans not to wait outside
03:00his hotel.
03:00But London is hardly the first time Vijay's popularity has spilled into a security challenge.
03:12In December last year, Vijay was mobbed by fans after returning from Malaysia.
03:18As the crowd surged around him outside Chennai airport, the actor-politician lost his footing and fell.
03:26His security team then escorted him to his car.
03:31Now, this event cancellation comes at a time when Vijay's UK visit has been about much more than fanfare.
03:40His tour has focused on attracting investments to Tamil Nadu.
03:44The state has signed MOUs worth 12,300 crore rupees, with the deals expected to generate more than 9,400
03:54jobs.
03:56For Vijay then, the UK tour carries two very different images.
04:01One of political outreach and investment.
04:05The other of a fan base whose sheer size can itself become a security challenge.
04:11Bureau Report, India Today.
04:42Well, actually, it turned out to be quite a huge chaos in the streets of London today and especially in
04:47a hotel called a shard,
04:48where apparently a kind of like the news was spread on online and on social media stating that the chief
04:53minister,
04:53there are high chances of fans to meet the chief minister.
04:56So, the large crowd started gathering around that spot.
04:58And just like you mentioned, this was an event for the chief minister from 10 to 17.
05:02We are expecting him to return tomorrow by 8 a.m. to Chennai.
05:04And amidst this, apparently, was a program that was scheduled for the day, apparently.
05:08But the crowd started to swell in large number that it became a huge kind of like, you know,
05:13impossible for the authorities to control over there, forcing the metropolitan police to actually inform the person over there,
05:20to inform the public to leave immediately, disperse immediately,
05:23considering it turned out to be a huge kind of issue for the commuters or any kind of like transport
05:27through that particular road.
05:29And unfortunately, one of the personnel had to come out and say,
05:32considering that the women and children in the squad, their safety, it has been decided to cancel the particular event.
05:37They apologize.
05:38And a note from TVK, ITB was also released stating that they thanked the fans for their immense love,
05:44but the program had to be canceled due to unforeseen circumstances, Akashita.
05:48Absolutely unprecedented to see these kind of crowds on the streets of London.
05:52The London security struggled to control the crowd.
05:55And so the CM security had to step out and make this appeal as well.
05:59Tomorrow, as Pramodh tells us, Chief Minister Vijay will be headed back to Chennai after wrapping up this seven-day
06:06London trip.
06:07Thanks very much, Pramodh, for joining us with those details.
06:11High on optics, but did it also deliver?
06:14Was Chief Minister Vijay's London trip a success or a failure?
06:19To decode that, joining me on this broadcast, we've got Sanjeevi Sadagopan, political analyst,
06:23Mr. Rangaraj Pandey is also with us on this broadcast.
06:26Mr. R. Kandan, author and commentator, also with us.
06:30Panakam, thank you all very much for your time.
06:32Mr. Rangaraj Pandey, I'd like to begin with you.
06:34What did you think, sir, of the Chief Minister's London visit?
06:37A lot of photo ops, a lot of headline pictures that you could get from the meetings and the fan
06:43craze and all of that.
06:44But beyond that, what did you think?
06:47If at all it is related to the investment, I would call this is neither a failure nor a success.
06:52And it's a tie, you can call it a drop.
06:56So for 15,000 crores, you need not to go all along to London and spend more than 10 days
07:01there.
07:01And most of the companies which we got the investments are already existing in India.
07:05Even a few companies are existing in Tamil Nadu itself.
07:08So there is nothing new.
07:09And other things, and spectacular things, and meeting Mr. Ajit, his old friend, and starting that, inaugurating the car race.
07:18All those are interesting things.
07:19And we learned that some other assignments also might be there.
07:24So according to that investment portion, we can call it a tie, neither success nor failure.
07:29And starting, inaugurating the race and all, it's a spectacular one, very interesting one.
07:35So I don't see any significance in this trip.
07:39For this 15,000 crores, the cheap nature can make it from land itself, in Tamil Nadu itself, in India
07:46itself.
07:47So of course, every other state is making, getting the investments more than lakhs and lakhs and crores
07:53by calling that vibrant Gujarat and Rajasthan and even Telangana and other countries.
07:58All those governments are making, getting huge investments on their own state itself.
08:03So making this huge trip for a long time, I think it is replicating the previous DMK government,
08:10how Mr. MK is telling the ex-Chief Minister making the travel and getting the investments more.
08:16On peanuts, and you know that more than 2-3 lakh crores budget, 15,000 crores of investment is not
08:23a huge one.
08:24So I don't see any significance in this trip.
08:28No, you're right.
08:29There have been a lot of questions on the investments, which is why, Mr. Kannan,
08:32do you think this London visit was more about boosting brand Vijay, whether it's in the pictures of the craze
08:39of the fans outside where he was staying
08:42or at the event of the racing event with Ajit versus the actual investment takeaways?
08:49Well, this trip is a bit of a damn square when it comes to investment.
08:55It is a very long, long achievement to me.
08:58Mr. Kannan, I apologize. I'm having a bit of a problem with your audio, so I'm going to ask my
09:02team to fix that.
09:03Give us a couple of moments. I'll bring in Sanjeev in the meanwhile, and hopefully by then we'll have Mr.
09:08Kannan's audio fixed.
09:09Sanjeev, what did you think of the Chief Minister's London visit?
09:12Would you brand it a success, or do you think that there was merely optics, nothing more?
09:19Well, there were so many expectations before the departure of Chief Minister Vijay, right?
09:23Like three days before, there was a news about him participating in a Silverstone event with his counterpart, Ajit,
09:31which was a very big treat for the fans, okay?
09:34That is okay. That is a part and parcel of his own trip.
09:37But after that, we're expecting that the premium will bring a lot of investments.
09:41But unfortunately, whatever Raghuraj Pandey has said, it's only 15,000 crores.
09:45So what will we expect from Chief Minister? We'll expect Chief Minister to meet someone from the fortune finder, right?
09:51But all these companies, out of the three companies, two companies are from India.
09:55One company has its headquarters in Noida, and the other has headquarters in Chennai itself, in Tamil Nadu itself, right?
10:01So in that case, how can we call it a success? This is definitely not a success.
10:05Yesterday, Chief Minister had a meeting with CEOs of Indian-based companies,
10:10including your Ashok Lelyan, your Hindija Group, and also another company called Pinulix.
10:14So why should, you know, he go to UK to meet Indian CEOs in UK, right?
10:20Because the minimum what the Chief Minister can bring, at least have meetings with the CEOs of world companies,
10:27big companies, including your fortune finder.
10:29So whatever that was expected to not happen there.
10:32No, so then I think there have been a lot of questions about whether this was an official trip
10:36or whether it was planned to be aligned with this racing event, with a fan greet event,
10:41which ultimately didn't happen.
10:43But Mr. Kannan, you're back with us. My apologies for earlier. Please go ahead, sir.
10:52Mr. Kannan?
10:58Okay, I don't think Mr. Kannan can hear me.
11:00We're just going to fix that. My apologies once again.
11:03We'll go back to him.
11:03But Mr. Rangaraj Pandey, you know, if I were to view what's happened,
11:07and especially this one incident where you had these huge crowds gathering on the streets of London
11:13to see the Chief Minister.
11:15And so globally now, there's a lot of talk about who is Chief Minister Vijay.
11:20So do you think the TVK ultimately, I'm not talking about the government,
11:23but the TVK will brand this visit a success?
11:26Yes, because you've got all those headline moments.
11:29They have to claim it as a success, not only because of the London trip or the investment,
11:34but the fan following also.
11:36Of course, we are all aware that Mr. Vijay is not only a politician,
11:39of course, he's a very recent-time politician, but long-time star of Tamil Nadu.
11:44And not only Tamil Nadu, the whole South States is completely aware of that.
11:47And including myself, most of the Tamil people are fans of Mr. Vijay.
11:53So obviously, when he visits some other country, the local people, all Tamils,
11:58whether they are fans or not, everybody will like to meet Mr. Vijay, see Mr. Vijay,
12:03because we know that Mr. Vijay is not appearing every other day like other politicians,
12:08like Karnanadi, Stalin, Vijay Gant, Andumani, Ramadas, and Seaman,
12:13all those people, including Jairudha, Imjar,
12:15they were all meeting the people every other day.
12:18But now we can see that Mr. Vijay is limiting his public appearance very rarely.
12:23So obviously, you cannot expect Mr. Vijay to visit London every other time.
12:28So obviously, that will be a huge...
12:30No, but do you think, Sai, it was ill-timed?
12:31You know, did he head to London too early as Chief Minister?
12:36Should he have waited?
12:37Because in investments, obviously, when you're 100 days old as Chief Minister,
12:40it's going to take time for those investments to come in.
12:42Did he rush into this?
12:43As I already told, there's no significance,
12:45and it is not a failure, neither a failure nor a success.
12:48But you cannot call that, you have to visit only this time,
12:50you have to visit the next month, it is not a certain case.
12:53So even, we have seen our Prime Minister, Mr. Modi,
12:56travelling throughout the globe and meeting the CEOs and all.
13:00There may not be...
13:01No, but there's a lot more transparency, sir, in those visits.
13:03You'll have minute-by-minute schedules of what the Prime Minister is up to.
13:07In this case, should that also have been there?
13:09You know, on a daily basis, we didn't know what meetings were taking place.
13:12I got your point.
13:13Just I wanted to make the point that whenever Mr. Prime Minister,
13:16Mr. Modi is travelling across the globe,
13:18every time he will not bring the investments.
13:20But that will be creating a huge rapport.
13:22So investment is a separate pass.
13:24And of course, we have to accept and agree
13:26that every individual will have their private life also.
13:29So you need not to ask every minute.
13:31And we have seen Mr. Rahul Gandhi travelling the globe,
13:34sometimes completely private trips and not known to anyone.
13:38So we have to appreciate, we have to respect their privacy also.
13:41Sir, but this was considered an official trip?
13:43Of course, every official.
13:45Again, I will bring the Prime Minister's example.
13:48Whenever Mr. Prime Minister Modi is travelling inside India,
13:53he will have one official...
13:55Prime Minister's capacity, he will have an official meeting.
13:58And another time, he will have a public meeting
14:00in the BJP president's capacity.
14:01So that will be political, that will be official.
14:04So it will be there.
14:05Whenever Mr. Vijay is having,
14:07he should visit only official things.
14:09He should not meet any personal friends.
14:11He should not have his private times.
14:12We should not expect like that.
14:13Just because of their public life,
14:16they need not to sacrifice their private life.
14:18Okay.
14:18He has a right to privacy.
14:20You know, even this racing event, many opined
14:23that, look, he's in London.
14:25This event was taking place
14:26and every chief minister is allowed some downtime.
14:29Maybe this was his downtime.
14:30The only question I'm asking is whether,
14:32you know, every single day,
14:33what was his schedule as chief minister?
14:35Should that have been released?
14:36Mr. Kannan, hopefully third time's the charm.
14:38I hope you can hear me.
14:39Your comments, sir.
14:41I think this whole trip is shrouded in a lot of mystery.
14:46It's a bit confounding.
14:48It's not clear to me why the chief minister
14:51should have undertaken this trip at this time
14:53when he's just settling down.
14:55His team is settling down.
14:57And there are so many issues
14:58that have to be dealt with here by him.
15:02And I remember yesterday happened to be
15:05the late chief minister on Nadurai's birthday.
15:08When he went on his first US trip
15:12after he became chief minister,
15:14he didn't take me howl into confidence initially.
15:18Then when he did so,
15:20he said he was pretty embarrassed
15:21to speak about his US trip
15:23because these questions as to
15:26there were so many issues in Tamil Nadu
15:28that he had to deal with
15:29and why this trip would have arisen.
15:31But he was going as a guest
15:32of the United States government.
15:35So this is a very new government.
15:38It has, people have brought them here
15:41to usher in change.
15:43And a lot is expected of this government.
15:46But the way this government has gone about things
15:49leaves much to be desired.
15:52To begin with, there is no,
15:53there's not much transparency.
15:56There's no attempt to communicate to the people.
16:01It's a bit disappointing.
16:02The argument, but Mr. Kannan, would be like,
16:05I'll take the example of, you know,
16:06the recent allegation of corruption over a tender,
16:09over which immediately in 24 hours or less than that,
16:12there was a crackdown in Tamburam.
16:14I'm sure you're aware of what really happened.
16:16So while there's criticism,
16:18there's also praise that comes in
16:19that, look, on the corruption front,
16:21Vijay seems to be doing the right thing.
16:23No, I completely agree.
16:25And that is the only reason
16:28many, I think, would want him to succeed
16:30because there must be a sea change
16:32in the culture and the DNA,
16:34the way the Tamils do business.
16:37This has to change.
16:38There must be probity in public life.
16:41There should be cleanliness.
16:42But the way this, I mean, his leadership,
16:46he has, you know,
16:50demonstrated his leadership
16:51in these last four months.
16:53It's a mixed bag.
16:55It's not that even.
16:56I mean, drawing up legislators
16:58from other parties to boost his strength.
17:02There is so much that is not said.
17:05And we don't know how exactly
17:07this government reaches certain decisions.
17:10All this is unclear.
17:11There is so much opposition
17:13to the decision to build a secretariat
17:16in the heart of the city.
17:18You're right.
17:19Why does he?
17:19There's a controversy over that as well.
17:22You're right.
17:22And so there are questions over that.
17:24Doesn't he have a responsibility?
17:26Doesn't his government have a responsibility
17:28to communicate to the people
17:29or those who object to this
17:31as to why he had reached this decision?
17:33Hmm.
17:35You are stonewalled.
17:37You're stonewalled completely.
17:39This is what we get from this government.
17:41And there's so much hope.
17:42And a lot of people want him to succeed.
17:45Yeah.
17:46Sanjeevi, what do you think?
17:47You know, would you have liked
17:48more transparency on this trip?
17:49And the reason I ask that is, look,
17:51someone like Vijay, a superstar,
17:53has always been extremely private
17:54about his life.
17:55Now he's in public life.
17:57The spotlight is on him.
17:58Do you think there's a question of him
18:00kind of getting used to that
18:01or trying to find a bridge between the two
18:03where he still has his privacy
18:05but at the same time
18:06is the chief minister of a state
18:08and there's a certain level of transparency
18:09expected with that?
18:11Yeah, of course.
18:12Even before his departure,
18:13there was so much controversies
18:14about his schedule, right?
18:16Even the day morning before he departed,
18:18many journalists from Chennai were tweeting
18:20that the official schedule of chief minister
18:22was not released to the media, right?
18:23Where is he going?
18:24Because he's going to go with the public money
18:26to get investments for the country.
18:28For the state.
18:29And secondly,
18:30I see so much of TVK people
18:32drawing a parallel between
18:34the former chief minister M.K. Stalin
18:35and, you know,
18:37current chief minister CEO Vijay
18:39stating that Stalin was able to bring
18:41only 10,000 crore investment
18:42during his first visit,
18:43but Vijay was able to bring
18:45a signed memorandum with 15,000 crores,
18:47worth of 15,000, 300 crores.
18:49I think that should not be a benchmark, right?
18:51Your benchmark should be
18:52your neighboring state, Andhra Pradesh.
18:54You have a chief minister,
18:55a vibrant chief minister
18:56like Shandar Bhavan and I do.
18:57Yeah, Shandar Bhavan and I do,
18:59who is pioneering in this, right?
19:01Because not immediately,
19:02like in 20, 20 years ago,
19:04he went to U.S.
19:06and he met Bill Gates
19:07and made sure Microsoft
19:09was opened in Hyderabad,
19:12which changed the entire landscape
19:14of Hyderabad from there, right?
19:15Even recently,
19:16he visited Singapore
19:18and there are a lot of investments, right?
19:20Investments worth of 15 billion crores,
19:23which happened recently.
19:24He's bought a data center
19:26in Ushaka, Vietnam,
19:27and they're also going to soon
19:29have a rocket center
19:31near Sri Harykota,
19:32rocket city.
19:33So these are the kind of investments,
19:35you know,
19:36you should compete with
19:38a state like Andhra Pradesh,
19:39not with the previous government, right?
19:42You can't keep saying,
19:42okay, DMK did not do it.
19:45So you can't bring the comparison here
19:46because people have already chosen you.
19:48Yeah.
19:48So the competition should be happening
19:49with the neighboring states
19:50and not with DMK anymore.
19:51No, and this is a highly competitive time
19:55that we're talking about,
19:55Mr. Rangaraj Pandey.
19:56You did highlight the fact that,
19:58you know,
19:58on the investment front,
19:59a lot more should have perhaps
20:00come in for Tamil Nadu.
20:02Why do you think that is?
20:03Do you think that this is because
20:04it's the first trip
20:06of the chief minister
20:06and so you can't have
20:08very sky-high expectations?
20:10This is the first of many visits
20:12by the chief minister.
20:13The challenge is
20:13that you have
20:14a highly competitive environment
20:16like Andhra Pradesh
20:17constantly pushing
20:18for those investments
20:19and in such a time,
20:20there will be a spotlight
20:21on chief minister Vijay
20:22and what he's bringing to the table.
20:23We have to agree
20:25that Andhra Pradesh,
20:26Telangana, Karnataka,
20:27Gujarat, Maharashtra,
20:29Tamil Nadu,
20:30all these states
20:30are performing well
20:31in bringing the investments
20:33and the GDPR
20:34constantly,
20:35not suddenly.
20:36And we have to,
20:37we cannot compare
20:38an apple with orange.
20:39We know that
20:40Mr. Chandrawah Unadi
20:41is not a first-time politician,
20:43not a party.
20:44Telepism is not
20:45a very recent party
20:47and they have
20:47a very good experience
20:48in the governance.
20:49Obviously,
20:50and we know very well
20:51that the investments
20:52are not happening
20:53within a month
20:54or a hundred days.
20:55Nobody will try to invest it.
20:57There will be a huge time
20:59they will take
20:59and they will discuss about
21:00and previously,
21:01there might be some
21:02wrong opinion
21:04about the DMK regime
21:05so the people
21:05might be hesitant
21:07to invest in Tamil Nadu.
21:08So now we have to convince
21:09that it is a new government
21:10and a new scenario.
21:11You can trust
21:12the Tamil Nadu government
21:13and you can come in.
21:14So a lot of lobbying
21:15should be,
21:16has to happen.
21:16So it will take time.
21:17You cannot expect that.
21:19It is not a film,
21:21no,
21:21it is not a cinema
21:21that Mr. Vijay,
21:23the hero,
21:24is going there
21:24and bringing everything,
21:26bringing that terrorist
21:27everywhere
21:28and dealing with
21:29all these things.
21:30You cannot expect
21:30this is not a cinema.
21:31So a practical life,
21:32it will take some time
21:33and as Mr. Sanjeev
21:36rightly said,
21:37there's a huge competition.
21:38I think and I hope
21:39and I wish that
21:40this government
21:42match the expectations.
21:44But not only about Vijay,
21:47the Tamil Nadu as a whole,
21:48it's the best place
21:49for investment.
21:50It is not about TV care,
21:51it is not about the DMK.
21:51I agree, I agree.
21:52Tamil Nadu is the best place
21:53to invest.
21:54So obviously,
21:55investors will prefer
21:56Tamil Nadu,
21:57I strongly believe.
21:57The state very clearly
21:58is doing very well
21:59but also has much more potential,
22:02is in a very highly
22:02competitive environment.
22:04Mr. Karnan,
22:05final question to you.
22:06Ultimately,
22:07are we being too harsh
22:08or too fast
22:10to judge
22:10Chief Minister Vijay?
22:11This is, after all,
22:12his first official trip
22:14for investments.
22:15Sanjeev,
22:16we drew that comparison
22:17that many of the
22:18TVK supporters
22:19have been speaking of
22:20on social media,
22:21highlighting what
22:21M.K. Stalin brought in
22:23in his first trip
22:23for investments
22:24versus what
22:25Chief Minister Vijay secured.
22:27No, I think
22:28I completely agree
22:29that Vijay should be
22:32more ambitious,
22:33in fact,
22:33incredibly ambitious
22:34because when he spoke
22:37at the Nithi Aayog meeting,
22:39when he participated,
22:41he outlined the vision.
22:44Whereas the earlier
22:45DMK government
22:46had a $1 trillion economy
22:49as a vision
22:49to be attained by 2030,
22:52he actually pushed
22:53the goalpost
22:54by another five years
22:56and said,
22:56of, yeah,
22:58five years, I think,
22:59and then said
23:00it should be
23:00a $1.5 trillion economy.
23:03And then the way
23:03to go about it
23:04is just to prepare
23:06towards it,
23:07is just to,
23:07you know,
23:09systematically work
23:10towards this.
23:11This might have been
23:11a very premature trip
23:13in my thinking.
23:16I heard
23:17the Malaysian
23:19Prime Minister,
23:20Anwar Ibrahim,
23:21in one of his interviews
23:23say that the
23:24Chief Minister's office
23:26and the Minister's office
23:27couldn't agree
23:29on certain dates
23:30and so they tried
23:30to see
23:31that they would meet.
23:33So what is
23:34more important
23:35than meeting
23:36with the Malaysian
23:37Prime Minister
23:37that this
23:39Chief Minister
23:40should definitely
23:41make it to the UK
23:43at this time
23:43and not later
23:44or before?
23:45It's not clear.
23:46So I think
23:48the priorities
23:48of this government,
23:49I think they have
23:50their heart
23:51in the right place
23:51but they don't
23:52have the tools.
23:53They don't have
23:54the right advisors.
23:55They don't have
23:56the right sort of,
23:57I mean,
23:57their supporters
23:58are very young people.
24:00They know nothing about,
24:01all of these people
24:03are completely new
24:03to public life.
24:04Look,
24:05there's,
24:06I think,
24:06an emotion
24:06attached to
24:08Chief Minister Vijay,
24:09to him being
24:10the head of the state.
24:11You see that visible
24:12on the streets
24:13of London as well.
24:14Beyond that emotion,
24:15what are the tangible
24:16takeaways of this
24:17London visit?
24:18We'll have to see
24:19because once he returns,
24:20I'm sure,
24:21or I hope,
24:21that the CMO then
24:22will give us more clarity
24:23on what really
24:24has been the win
24:26for Tamil Nadu
24:27from this kind
24:27of a visit.
24:29But we'll leave it
24:29to that,
24:30Mr Kandan,
24:30Mr Rangaraj Pandey
24:31and Sanjeevi,
24:32thank you very much
24:32for your time
24:33for joining us here
24:34on India Today.
24:35We've got some of
24:35those images on our screen,
24:37some of the highlights
24:37really of the
24:38Chief Minister's
24:39London visit.
24:40But what we've also
24:41seen is absolute chaos
24:42because when the
24:43Chief Minister
24:43was in London,
24:45there was supposed
24:45to be a fan greet
24:46event,
24:46cancelled,
24:47called off as a
24:48result of the
24:49number of fans
24:50who thronged that
24:51particular street.
24:51So much so that
24:52some reports suggested
24:53there was a hospital
24:54right there,
24:55gates to that hospital
24:56were closed off
24:57and obviously because
24:57of that,
24:58emergency services
24:59were being disrupted.
25:00So craze in London too
25:02for Chief Minister
25:03Vijay playing out
25:04and unprecedented scenes
25:05really where the
25:06security officer
25:07had to come out
25:07with a loudspeaker
25:08and urge everyone
25:09to disperse.
25:11So let's round up
25:12for you all of the
25:13highlights of Chief
25:14Minister Vijay's
25:15London trip.
25:16Week-long seven days
25:17packed with big moments,
25:18investment talks to a
25:20full-blown fan frenzy.
25:21Here are those highlights.
25:25The most memorable moment
25:26on your screens
25:27when Chief Minister Vijay
25:29was at the iconic
25:30Silverstone Circuit
25:31and superstar Ajit Kumar
25:32competed in the last round
25:34of the Michelin Le Mans Cup.
25:36Vijay was there to support
25:37Ajit,
25:38waved off the green flag
25:39to officially start the race.
25:44Chief Minister Vijay
25:45also inspected
25:46the racing infrastructure
25:48during his UK visit.
25:49He was accompanied
25:50by Minister Adiv Arjuna
25:51and senior government
25:52officials.
25:53This visit comes
25:55after Vijay's promise
25:56to upgrade Chennai's
25:57motorsport infrastructure
25:58and create facilities
26:00capable of bringing
26:01major international races
26:02to India.
26:05Another moment
26:06that drew criticism
26:08from opposition parties
26:09was actor Trisha's
26:10presence as she
26:11accompanied Vijay
26:12to watch the race.
26:12The two were seen
26:13together at the event
26:14leading to the opposition
26:15questioning how this
26:16was an official visit
26:17by the Chief Minister.
26:21Vijay's UK tour
26:22has also been focused
26:23on attracting
26:24investments for Tamil Nadu.
26:26The state has signed
26:26investment MOUs
26:28worth 12,300 crores
26:30with the deals
26:31expected to generate
26:32over 9,400 jobs
26:33for people from the state.
26:37Chief Minister Vijay's
26:39planned public appearance
26:40outside London's
26:41iconic Shard skyscraper
26:43was cancelled
26:44after police raised
26:45crowd safety concerns.
26:46Disappointing hundreds
26:47of supporters
26:48were gathered
26:48and waited for hours
26:50to catch a glimpse
26:50of Vijay.
26:54Now focusing on news
26:56from Tamil Nadu
26:57you've also had
26:58a big showdown
26:59over corruption.
27:00The central crime branch
27:01has raided the residence
27:02of former Tamil Nadu
27:04minister Anbil Mahesh.
27:05He's a former
27:06Tamil Nadu school
27:07education minister.
27:08This is over an alleged
27:09100 crore
27:11private school fraud case.
27:12Police allege money
27:13was collected
27:14from school managements
27:15in exchange for promises
27:16of government approvals
27:17and clearances.
27:19DMK chief M.K.
27:20Stalin has called
27:21the raid political vendetta.
27:22Let's get you all
27:23the latest on the story.
27:28The alleged 100 crore
27:30rupees school fraud probe
27:31in Tamil Nadu
27:32has now reached
27:33the doorstep
27:34of former education
27:35minister Anbil Mahesh.
27:36The Chennai crime branch
27:38on Wednesday
27:38searched the Tiruchirapalli
27:40residence of the DMK leader.
27:42At the centre of the case
27:44is DMK functionary
27:45BT Arasakumar
27:46accused of collecting
27:47money from private schools
27:49with promises of recognition,
27:50upgradation
27:51and government clearances.
27:53Arasakumar was arrested
27:54on June 27.
27:57The complaints reportedly
27:59relate to the periods
28:002024 to 2026
28:02when Anbil Mahesh
28:03was the state
28:04education minister.
28:05Mahesh has now been
28:06booked under the
28:07Prevention of Corruption Act
28:09as the crime branch
28:10probes his alleged role
28:11in the case.
28:12But the raid has quickly
28:14turned into a political
28:15flashpoint.
28:16Former chief minister
28:17and DMK chief
28:18M.K. Stalin
28:19has called the action
28:20political vendetta
28:21accusing the TVK government
28:22of trying to divert
28:24attention from real issues
28:25facing Tamil Nadu.
28:27The DMK has vowed
28:28to legally challenge
28:29the raids.
28:33And as the political war
28:35escalates,
28:36DMK workers
28:36took to the streets
28:37staging protests
28:38outside Anbil Mahesh's
28:40residence against
28:41the raids.
28:42The raid on a
28:43former minister's
28:44residence has turned
28:45an alleged school
28:45approvals racket
28:46into a full-blown
28:48political storm.
28:49With the DMK
28:50promising a legal
28:51challenge and the
28:51crime branch
28:52intensifying its
28:53investigation,
28:54the controversy
28:55is unlikely to die
28:56down anytime soon.
28:58With Apoorwa Jai Chandra
29:00in Chennai,
29:00Bureau Report,
29:01India Today.
29:05Over to news
29:06from Bengaluru.
29:07We've always spoken
29:08about the broken
29:09roads and footpaths,
29:11familiar problem,
29:12but this time a CEO
29:14decided he had waited
29:15long enough for
29:16authorities to act.
29:17He walks on the
29:17same footpath every
29:18day and after finding
29:20it badly damaged,
29:21repeatedly wrote to
29:22civic officials and
29:23even the chief
29:24minister's office.
29:25Nothing changed.
29:26He decided to spend
29:28money from his own
29:29pocket, got a cement
29:30ramp built on the
29:31broken pavement.
29:33Here's how he decided
29:35to be the change in
29:36Bengaluru.
29:38This is my daily
29:39walking path.
29:40I walk here every
29:41day and I observe
29:42that the footpath is
29:43broken here.
29:44I cannot imagine
29:46anyone with a
29:47stroller or a
29:48wheelchair anytime
29:48using this footpath.
29:50Rest of the footpath
29:51as you can see is
29:52good, but this
29:53junction is completely
29:54broken and it
29:55used to irritate me
29:56a lot.
29:57I raised the ticket
29:58on BBMP portal.
29:59I sent an email to
30:00GBA, complained on
30:02their helpline, got
30:03some automated
30:04response, but they
30:05never acted on it.
30:06So I finally decided
30:07to do it myself.
30:08I welcome citizen
30:10participation, but I
30:11understand that it
30:12is our responsibility,
30:14but sometimes it
30:15takes time for us to
30:16respond because we
30:17work at a certain
30:18scale.
30:19There are about more
30:21than 15,000 kilometer
30:23length of roads in
30:25Bengaluru.
30:26So the corporations
30:27work at a certain
30:29scale.
30:30They have a certain
30:30time schedule also,
30:32right?
30:33And they prioritize.
30:34They prioritize
30:35arterial, sub
30:36arterial roads.
30:37Sometimes the
30:38citizens' grievances
30:39may not fit into the
30:41way they approach.
30:42So in such cases as a
30:44gap-filling measure,
30:45as long as people
30:46are doing it
30:48constructively or they
30:49want to be part of
30:50the solution, we
30:51welcome it.
30:52But I understand that
30:53that's our
30:54responsibility.
30:54I'm not shirking
30:55away from my
30:56responsibility.
30:57We will try to be
30:58more responsive.
31:00And as I wrap up
31:01this broadcast, a
31:02reminder that tomorrow
31:03we're bringing to
31:04you the Keralam
31:05Roundtable from
31:05Tirvanantapuram.
31:07India Today, once
31:08again, ahead of the
31:08curve when it comes to
31:09bringing South India's
31:10biggest faces and
31:12political leadership to
31:13the national spotlight.
31:14We got you for the
31:15first time, Tamil Nadu
31:16Chief Minister Vijay,
31:17followed by Karnataka
31:18Chief Minister D.K.
31:19Shivkumar.
31:20Now the spotlight, we
31:21turn to Keralam.
31:23At the India Today
31:24Keralam Roundtable, you
31:25can catch an exclusive
31:26detailed conversation
31:28with Chief Minister
31:29Vidi Satishan all day
31:31tomorrow starting 10
31:32a.m.
31:33Here's the curtain
31:34raised.
31:34I'm leaving you with
31:35it.
31:35Don't forget to tune
31:36in tomorrow.
31:50When it comes to
31:52putting South India's
31:53political voices
31:54centre stage, India
31:56today has consistently
31:57been ahead of the
31:58curve.
32:00Tamil Nadu saw a new
32:02political entrant rise
32:04rise to power this
32:04year.
32:05After taking charge as
32:07Chief Minister, Vijay
32:08chose India Today for
32:09his first national
32:10television appearance.
32:15Then came the India
32:16Today Karnataka
32:17conclave.
32:18After taking charge as
32:20the Chief Minister, D.K.
32:21Shivkumar picked the
32:22India Today as the
32:24platform to share his
32:25vision for Karnataka.
32:28What do you mean by
32:29a harried man?
32:31Last time when you
32:32saw me with a lot of
32:32patience.
32:33A man in a hurry?
32:35A man in a hurry.
32:36Okay.
32:38Because people of
32:44Karnataka and my
32:45cadres in the country,
32:48they are too much
32:51having confidence on
32:52economy, dependent, and
32:55I have to give you a
32:56good governance.
33:00And now, the
33:01spotlight moves further
33:03south to Kerala.
33:08On Thursday, the
33:10India Today Kerala
33:11roundtable will bring
33:12Chief Minister B.D.
33:14Satishan to the
33:15centre of the
33:15conversation.
33:17Because the south
33:18has a lot to say.
33:20And India Today is
33:21bringing those voices
33:23to the nation.
33:25Bureau Report,
33:26India Today.
Comments