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Want to be an independent voice of the people: Prakash Raj
The 53-year-old started the New Year with the announcement that he will contest the Lok Sabha election later this year as an independent candidate, marking his entry into the electoral arena.
Actor Prakash Raj said on Friday he wanted to be a voice of the people and would not be averse to joining hands with secular forces as an Independent, should the situation arise as he spelt out his plans for his political journey.
The 53-year-old started the New Year with the announcement that he will contest the Lok Sabha election later this year as an independent candidate, marking his entry into the electoral arena.
And, on January 5, the Iruvar actor said on Twitter he will contest from the Bengaluru Central constituency, a move that marked the culmination of his activism over the past year, especially through his #JustAsking campaign.
The multi-lingual actor said though he had decided against entering politics after he travelled across the state during the assembly elections in May last year, he had come to reconsider that stand in the intervening months because he felt the people’s voice had to be heard.
“Why contest as an Independent? If I get into any political party I know I won’t survive for three months, so why join,” he said.
“Today, any parliamentarian who stands for a party, who gets lakhs of votes, the minute they go to Delhi they become one vote for their party. Hence, I decided on being an Independent to become a questioning, rational voice,” he said, adding that he could no longer “just be asking but answering, too”.
Raj aired many misgivings against political parties that had prevented him from joining such organisations. “They are trying to protect each other and nobody is interested in the people,” he said, adding later that “everybody was a thief”.
“In any country, when communalism rises people will oppose it. If there is a group of people opposing communalism then why not join them as an Independent? It is important to stand against communalism but why join a party for that,” Raj said expressing his willingness to join hands with the Mahagathbandhan being formed by opposition parties.
Though he did not name any party in particular, Raj said he had campaigned during the Karnataka state elections, not for any party but against those who espouse a communal ideology. “They thought I was raising a voice for them but I was raising a voice for a movement,” he said.
Raj has been a vocal critic of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Addressing a press conference in Bengaluru last year, Raj had claimed that there he was being offered a fewer number of films as a result of his political activism. The National Award-winning actor has said earlier that his increasing political activity was sparked by the murder of a close friend and journalist Gauri Lankesh, who was gunned down in front of her Bengaluru house on September 5, 2017.
Also read: Journalist Gauri Lankesh, known critic of Hindu right-wing extremism, murdered
Raj also said that the politics of Ram Mandir is being played in AC rooms of Delhi and Uttar Pradesh’s capital Lucknow.
“I challenge the media to visit Ayodhya and see how people there are living on the streets. Is this the Ram Rajya they want to bring?” he asked, according to news agency ANI.
Raj said his choice of the constituency was dictated by the fact that he was born, brought up and educated in central Bengaluru. “My first foray into theatre and cinema were made here as well,” Raj said. “My childhood friends, relatives, everybody is here. I decided to come back to my roots when I decided on entering politics.”
Additionally, the constituency lent itself to the cosmopolitan outlook he had come through his acting career, Raj said. “Bengaluru Central is a mini India, many languages are spoken here and it is a very secular urban seat.”
He expressed confidence that people would not vote for him just because of his stint in the film industry but based on his policies.
“I know the issues being faced by the people, but I will not be arrogant and say that I know everything. This is why I will visit my constituency and seek to make a people’s manifesto,” he said.
Raj has appeared in films in all south Indian languages and also in Hindi and other languages. In Bollywood, Raj acted in 2009 film Wanted and has since then taken on the roles of a villain in movies including Singham, Dabangg 2, Mumbai Mirror and others.
