“They [protesters] marched on the wrong arena where 22 players were playing. They should have gone a little further… a kilometre or two away…may be…marched to Fort St. George where 234 players are playing with our lives, instead of 22 players. If they had gone there, I would have been the first person there to protest. That place needs cleaning up,” said actor Kamal Haasan at an event organised here in Chennai.
Answering questions from the audience at the ‘We The Change’ event organised by Chennai International Centre, Mr. Haasan explained why he participated in the agitations against Sterlite Copper plant in Thoothukudi.
‘Not against industry’
“The blatant flouring of rules cannot be done. I am not against industry at all because without that the State will not stand on its feet. But it can’t be a secret deal between the government and industrialists. That has to go,” the actor-politician said.
He further said people were dying because of the factory in Thoothukudi. “…Because of one factory, people are dying in Thoothukudi. I have talked to experts on both sides, heard their defence. Businessmen can be ambitious, brave, bold but not avaricious. To quote Gandhiji ‘Nature has enough for everyone’s need but not any man’s greed’.”
When asked whether it is possible to generate income comparable to the huge sum generated from the sale of liquor via Tasmac, Mr. Haasan said: “It is not the huge income for the State. The huge income is what they [those in power] take away. There is nothing comparable to it. Two hundred thirty-four people are working on this day and night. That is more. Tasmac is a business, people can do it. The problem is allowing only two people to do it.” He urged everyone to keep an eye on him and said his first agenda would be to set up a Lok Ayukta. Stating that the idea of the Dravidian movement still remains, he said, “It was the need of the hour – Justice Party and all that. Educated people came into it. But that need has been watered down. Even if Anna Durai and Karunanidhi had not come into politics, it would have still happened. But it would have taken a different course. The idea still remains. It is a valid idea. They had a theory and they went in and started well. Like most great institutions, we have seen the rise and fall.”
Secretariat building
He also spoke about the controversial move by the Jayalalithaa administration to convert the Secretariat building built by DMK into a hospital and the continuous neglect of Cooum river by successive governments. He said: “It is the biggest monument of political hubris at play. We have been all witnesses to that. We must address this directly. The library has also been neglected. This building was not constructed to be a hospital. The place is not fit to be a hospital. It is like turning an opera house into a hospital.”
