Johnson Cherian.
In what could be inferred as a statement of political intent, actor Rajinikanth on Friday urged his fans to wait for the impending war. “Go home and do your work. The day we have to fight the war, we will take care of it,” said Rajinikanth on the final day of his five-day initiative in Chennai to meet fans from all over Tamil Nadu.
Acknowledging that Tamil Nadu has good leaders such as DMK working president M.K. Stalin, PMK youth wing leader Anbumani Ramadoss, VCK chief Thol. Thirumavalavan and Naam Tamilar Katchi leader Seeman to take Tamil Nadu forward, Rajinikanth however said that the system is rotten.
“Cho Ramaswamy used to say that Mr. Stalin will do wonders if he is given a free hand. He is a good administrator. Anbumani Ramadoss is also a well educated man with good ideas. Seeman’s ideas have amazed me at times. But, the system itself is rotten. Democracy is rotten. The way people think of democracy has changed drastically. People’s notion about democracy needs to change,” he said.
Commenting on often heard criticism about his non-Tamil origin making him unfit to get into politics in Tamil Nadu, he said that he considers himself a ‘pure-Tamil’. “I wanted to clear this: there are questions raised about my non-Tamil origin. I was in Karnataka for the first 23 years of my life. I have spent 44 years in Tamil Nadu. Though I came here as a Marathi/Kannadiga, people of Tamil Nadu have supported me, gave me everything. The people of Tamil Nadu have made me a Tamil by their unflinching support. I am a pure Tamil. My forefathers were from Krishnagiri district.” He added that if some in Tamil Nadu were to ask him to leave the state, he would rather go to Himalayas than settle down in any other State.
He urged his fans not to mind the negative comments on social media but rued the lack of civility in the discourse.
“I didn’t expect my comments about how one should be in politics to create such a big news and debates. Politics is all about opposition and without opposition nobody can grow. But, some comments on social media made me feel why people stoop so low in using such words.”
