Taking a dig at actors nurturing political aspirations, AIADMK MLA Thoppu N.D. Venkatachalam on Monday said they will not succeed in their endeavours and “will soon disappear”.
During a debate on the budget in the Assembly, Mr. Venkatachalam mentioned the name of an actor and said he may be a “tiger in cinema”, but was only a “mouse in politics”. He went on to mention a song from a recent Tamil film and said, “There is a verse in the song, which says a Tamil will rule us ( Alaporan Tamilan ). Is our Chief Minister from the Sinhala land? He is very much a Tamil.” DMK leader M.K. Stalin rose and said it was not appropriate to criticise those who were not present in the House. When Speaker P. Dhanapal turned to the AIADMK MLA, he said the names of the actors [referred to by him] need not be recorded. He went on to say that the CM didn’t know how to light a cigarette in style, deliver punch dialogues or speak in a “manner that confuses others”, but he was leading the government efficiently.