Girls were harassed: Actor Vishal salutes CM Vijay's liquor shop crackdown

Actor Vishal has praised Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Vijay after the latter, in his first order after taking office, announced the closure of 717 liquor shops located within 500 metres of temples, schools and bus stands across the state. Vijay issued the order two days after being sworn in as Chief Minister at a high-profile ceremony held at Chennai's Jawaharlal Nehru Indoor Stadium.

Vishal, who shares a close friendship with Vijay from their college days, reacted to the announcement in a post on X and thanked the actor-politician for the move, particularly the closure of liquor shops near schools. His post came as Vijay's first major decision in office drew attention across Tamil Nadu.

Vishal praises CM Vijay's first order

Sharing a video message for Vijay on X, Vishal wrote, "Kudos to you, whistles to u. Hats off to u. Dear CM josephvijay avargal. Thank u for the announcement to close 717 wine shops especially the ones near schools. Wat a move. So many girl children hav been facing harassment especially the one I know in rk nagar where a girl student was complaining of having to go through the stress crossing the tasmac store and reaching home everyday (sic)."

"She and so many of the common public will hail you and your decision. With a smile on so many faces including mine with this decision of our CM will be everlasting from this menace. God bless u dearest #vijay. #thalapathyvijay #CMjosephvijay . I salute u and your government today (sic)," he captioned the video message for Vijay.

In the same post, Vishal said that many girl children have been facing harassment because of TASMAC (Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation Limited) stores around schools. He added, "God bless you dearest #Vijay. #ThalapathyVijay #CMJosephVijay. I salute you and your government today."

How Vijay came to power

Vijay took oath as the Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu on Sunday after a week of political drama following the Assembly election results. He contested the state elections as the leader of his party, TVK, which won 108 of the state's 234 seats.

However, Vijay had to wait to form the government as the party was 10 seats short of the majority mark. TVK eventually came to power with the support of the Congress, the two Left parties and the Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi (VCK), a smaller Tamil party.

Swearing-in ceremony draws attention

Vijay's oath-taking ceremony also remained in the headlines because of actor Trisha's presence at the event, which was skipped by his wife and children. Video clips of Trisha meeting and hugging Vijay's mother, and then appearing misty-eyed as he was sworn in, went viral on social media.

A day after the ceremony, Trisha shared an Instagram post with the caption, "Love is always louder", which further fuelled conversation on social media.

Vijay's first order as Chief Minister, the closure of 717 liquor shops near temples, schools and bus stands, has now become the first major administrative decision of his tenure - being seen as a statement by the new CM.