Actor Rajinikanth, who on Sunday commended Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah – likening them to Lord Krishna and Arjuna in Mahabharata – for abrogating the special status granted to Jammu and Kashmir and bifurcating the State into two Union Territories, has yet again exposed himself to criticism that he is pro-BJP.
The superstar, who had announced his intention to launch a political party ahead of the next Assembly election in Tamil Nadu and follow “spiritual politics” has, in the past, counted veteran BJP leader L.K. Advani among his friends and backed the river inter-linking project, promising to contribute ₹1 crore to the cause.
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Mr. Rajinikanth’s position backing the Centre on the Kashmir issue runs contrary to the stand taken by most political parties in Tamil Nadu. It is being seen as a political line to be adopted by him when he launches his party.
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In contrast, actor and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan has taken a largely anti-BJP stand and has described the Centre’s move on Kashmir as regressive, autocratic and a “clear assault on democracy”.
The DMK and its allies have convened an all-party meeting and urged the Centre to send an all-party MPs’ delegation to Jammu and Kashmir to interact with and elicit the opinion of the people.
Professor Ramu Manivannan, Head of the Department of Political Science and Public Administration at the University of Madras, refused to attach any importance to Mr. Rajinikanth’s speech, saying his line had always been to support whoever was in power.
“Mr. Rajinikanth is constructing a dialogue and image to match the consortium of power. He is never going to be ‘delivery material’ in politics. He can go on saying whatever he wants because it helps him survive and stay where he is,” he contended.
Mr. Manivannan also had a different take on Mr. Rajinikanth’s hesitation in launching a political party.
“He is like somebody standing beside the line and saying ‘I am ready to go’. But he has been standing there for a very long time and has, in the process, drawn the attention of a lot of people to that position. He knows that Tamil Nadu politics is now totally different for him to make a sudden appearance and sweep through,” the professor explained.
Murali Appas, a spokesperson for the MNM, did not agree with the view that Mr. Rajinikanth would always take a position that would contradict the stand of Mr. Haasan.
“He is taking a stand depending on the issues. Recently, while participating in the audio release of the film Kaapan , starring Suriya, he openly supported Mr. Suriya’s take on the draft National Education Policy,” Mr. Appas pointed out.
He added that Mr. Rajinikanth will definitely take the political plunge, recalling a speech he made in the presence of late DMK leader Karunanidhi, in which the actor said he would not join politics so long as Mr. Karunanidhi was alive.