Dr. H.V. Hande, a former minister in the cabinet of M.G. Ramachandran who gave DMK president M. Karunanidhi his toughest fight ever in the 1980 Assembly election, maintains a low profile at present.
But on Sunday, he was sitting in the midst of the fans of the legendary actor-turned-politician here, to share his anguish over certain remarks made by DMDK leader Premalatha Vijayakant. Ms. Premalatha had said that the legendary politician’s speech was incoherent. She was responding to comments that no one can understand what her husband — DMDK founder Vijayakant, who in his initial days presented himself as ‘karuppu MGR’ (dark-complexioned MGR) — says.
In a State where MGR still wields influence 29 years after his death, his fans and supporters have not taken kindly to this remark. “Such a comparison between Vijayakant and MGR was unnecessary. This only seems like a political stunt. MGR used to treat even his political opponents with great respect,” Mr. Hande said.
While fans had not objected to Mr. Vijayakant calling himself ‘karuppu MGR’ or to his use of a van presented by the late leader’s wife Janaki during campaigns, this latest episode has them seeing red. “MGR suffered a bullet injury in his neck on January 12, 1967, when fellow actor M.R. Radha shot him. His vocal chords were damaged. Before that his voice was crystal clear. Therefore, it is inappropriate to compare his latter year incoherence with that of Vijayakant’s,” said B.S. Raju of ‘MGR Kalanjiyam’, an organisation run by the actor’s fans. “There was a hunt to find someone to dub his voice but that fell through and MGR continued acting,” he added.
