‘Look beyond caste, religion, political identity’

Voters must think about who the candidate is, whether they’ve been honest: Kamal

Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Sunday said people should look beyond caste, religion and political identity while voting for a candidate during elections.

In a statement on the eve of National Voters’ Day, Mr. Haasan said democracy gave dignity and power to the citizens when India became a democratic country and held elections for the first time.

“However, many of us don’t think of ourselves as free individuals. We continue to vote as a social group – we vote for a candidate just because he hails from our own caste or goes to the same temple to which we go, or simply because our families have voted for a particular party for generations. This is, in a way, a slave mentality,” he said.

Mr. Haasan said the voters must think about who the candidate is, what their qualifications are, whether they have been honest and righteous, and what their plans are to develop their constituencies.

“Without considering these aspects, the people are voting based on caste, religion and political identity. This is defeating the purpose of democracy. Don’t look at the caste [of the candidate]. See if the candidate can achieve something,” Mr. Haasan said.

According to him, corrupt politicians were accruing wealth illegally for the next 10 generations and bringing their children into politics to safeguard their wealth.

“When a corrupt person is thinking about his family, why are you not thinking about your family? We have a responsibility to rebuild Tamil Nadu and hand it over to the next generation. If we don’t do it, there will be no pardon for us. Let us get together on voting day and win,” he said.