It was supposed to be a simple visit. Chief Minister Joseph Vijay’s first trip to Karur since the stampede tragedy that killed 39 of his supporters. Reporters arrived early, eager to cover the event and report on his address.
What they got was not access. It was humiliation.
Police officers, acting on what appeared to be official instructions, forced journalists out of the main venue and herded them to a corner where a tent had been erected. The press corps was physically prevented from being anywhere near the podium where the Chief Minister was speaking. When reporters confronted authorities about how they could possibly report from such a distance, they received no response. Senior TVK leader and minister Bussy Anand, present at the venue, did not intervene. Higher officials remained silent.
The irony is staggering. Police and TVK had issued official passes to reporters for covering the event. If the media was not going to be permitted inside the venue, why issue the passes at all? Why make reporters run from pillar to post?
This is not an isolated incident. It is a pattern.
Last month in Trichy, journalists were made to treated the same way and not allowed access to report the meeting directly. During the manifesto release, they were pushed to the hotel car parking area. At Panayur, even before Joseph Vijay came to power, reporters were forced to the roadside. Now, as Chief Minister, the treatment has only worsened.
Compare this with the standard practice in Tamil Nadu. Even during high-profile visits by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, proper security checks are conducted, passes are issued, and the media is allowed to function from designated spaces that enable reporting. This is a standard, democratic protocol that has been followed for decades. Yet, despite being the Chief Minister of a state, Joseph Vijay’s administration is imposing restrictions and creating obstacles that are unseen even for the Prime Minister.
Why is Joseph Vijay’s administration different? What is the Chief Minister afraid of? Why is the “People’s Leader” running from the very institution that amplified his film career and political rise?
In his movies, Vijay delivers long, heroic dialogues confronting the media, lecturing them on their duties. But in reality, he does not even listen to media questions. He does not engage. He does not respond.
Democracy in this country allowed Joseph Vijay to grow from a film star to a political force. The press covered his rallies, his speeches, his rise. Now that he is in power, the 4th Pillar of democracy is being treated as a 4th-class inconvenience.
This is not about security. This is about control.
The authorities have not offered a credible explanation. No official statement has been issued. The silence is as loud as the Chief Minister’s absent responses to media queries.
If Joseph Vijay wants to govern as a democrat, he must start by treating democrats, the journalists who inform the public with the respect they deserve.
புறக்கணிக்கப்படும் பத்திரிகையாளர்கள்; இதெல்லாம் சரியா CM சார்?#CMVijay | #Karur | #Press | #VikatanReels pic.twitter.com/jThnbDPvcj
— விகடன் (@vikatan) July 10, 2026
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