Makkal Needhi Maiam cadre and office-bearers were surprised on Friday to find a press release hosted on the party website declaring that its founder, Kamal Haasan, has decided to merge the organisation with the Congress. However, party vice president A.G. Mourya clarified that the website had been hacked.
The press release posted on the website, which has since been removed, claimed that the parties would be merged on January 30, the day on which Mahatma Gandhi was shot dead by Hindutva ideologue Nathuram Godse in New Delhi in 1948.
The ‘fake’ press release appeared to mock Congress MP Rahul Gandhi’s recent comments on how he doesn’t care about what people are talking about him. He recently said, “I have killed Rahul Gandhi. He exists only in your mind and the BJP’s mind.” In a satirical take, the press release quoted, Mr. Haasan saying, “Ever since Rahul Gandhi said he killed Rahul Gandhi, I wanted to do something similar. Today Makkal Needhi Maiam has killed Makkal Needhi Maiam, and we are all Congress.” This quote making fun of both Mr. Gandhi and Mr. Haasan was circulated on social media.
Speaking to The Hindu, Mr. Mourya said, “The website was likely hacked and the press release is false. Why would we publish a press release on our website about a merger? We would rather make a formal announcement.”
Mr. Haasan’s participation in Rahul Gandhi’s Bharat Jodo Yatra and his decision to support the Tamil Nadu Congress Committee’s (TNCC) Erode (East) candidate, E.V.K.S. Elangovan, had triggered speculation that the MNM would likely be in the same alliance as the Congress in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.
On Friday, MNM leader and Erode (East) bypoll incharge of MNM, A. Arunachalam, who recently rejoined the MNM from the BJP, met TNCC chief K.S. Alagiri and discussed election strategies with the Congress leadership, a MNM release said.
