Vijay Pays Tribute To Ex-LTTE Chief, BJP Targets Rahul Gandhi, TVK Responds

Tamil Nadu's superstar-turned-Chief Minister Vijay paying tribute to the banned outfit Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE)'s founder, V Prabhakaran, has triggered a massive controversy.

The BJP took a potshot at Congress over this, seeking to remind Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi that the LTTE was responsible for his father, former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi's, assassination.

Defending Vijay, sources in his party, Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam, stressed that his reference was to the massacre of thousands of Tamils in Sri Lanka and not just about Prabhakaran's death.

Prabhakaran was named the main accused in Rajiv Gandhi's assassination in 1991 and the LTTE was banned in India for its role in the high-profile killing of a sitting prime minister.

The Congress, long helmed by the Gandhi family, now backs Vijay's minority government in Tamil Nadu.

Vijay Remembers Mullivaikkal

Prabhakar was shot dead by the Lankan army in Mullivaikkal in Sri Lanka on May 18, 2009. On his death anniversary, Vijay yesterday referred to the place and wrote on X, "We will carry the memories of Mullivaikkal in our hearts! We will always stand in solidarity for the rights of our Tamil kin living across the sea!"

முள்ளிவாய்க்கால் நினைவுகளை இதயத்தில் ஏந்துவோம்! கடல் கடந்து வாழும் நம் தமிழ்ச் சொந்தங்களின் உரிமைகளுக்காக எப்போதும் துணை நிற்போம்!

— TVK Vijay (@TVKVijayHQ) May 18, 2026

Read: Vijay Pays Tribute To Ex-LTTE Chief Prabhakaran On Death Anniversary

BJP's Rajiv Reminder

The BJP's media cell chief Amit Malviya attacked Rahul Gandhi over Vijay's tribute to Prabhakaran, reminding him that the LTTE had a role in the assassination of his father.

Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister has paid homage to LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, whose outfit assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.

Of course, Rahul Gandhi would have no problem with it, as long as the Congress gets a slice of power. After all, the DMK too was an… pic.twitter.com/1HRaI1xmzm

— Amit Malviya (@amitmalviya) May 19, 2026

"Tamil Nadu's new Chief Minister has paid homage to LTTE chief Velupillai Prabhakaran, whose outfit assassinated former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. Of course, Rahul Gandhi would have no problem with it, as long as the Congress gets a slice of power. After all, the DMK too was an LTTE apologist, yet Congress remained perfectly comfortable in alliance with it," he said.

TVK Defends Vijay

TVK sources say that the reference of 'Mullivaikkal' is also about the massacre of thousands of Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka, and not just about the death of former LTTE chief Prabhakaran. It's the duty of any right-thinking leader to remember the loss of innocent lives, the sources said.

The Lankan Tamil population across the world and a section of Tamils in India observe May 18 as the Mullivaikal Remembrance Day (or Tamil Genocide Remembrance Day).

It remembers the tens of thousands of Tamil civilians who were killed, injured, or disappeared during the final, brutal offensive in the coastal village of Mullivaikkal, which marked the tragic end of the Sri Lankan Civil War in 2009.

The ethnic war lasting nearly 30 years had begun with a demand for a separate homeland for Lankan Tamils in Sri Lanka but turned into a full-fledged armed war in its final phase.

The Sri Lankan Tamils' issue was not a major issue in the recent polls, but Vijay, whose TVK eventually swept power, had made a reference to the former LTTE chief during his campaigns.

Speaking in Nagapattinam district last September, he had said, "Our umbilical-cord kin, the Eelam Tamils, whether they are in Sri Lanka or anywhere else in the world, are suffering after losing a leader who showed them motherly affection."

"It is our duty to raise our voice for them," he had said.

Vijay's tribute for the former LTTE chief is rare since parties in power in Tamil Nadu generally refrain from being seen in support of Prabhakaran. His minority government stays afloat with the support of VCK -- known for its pro-LTTE stance.