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‘Kamal Haasan can be a CM only in films,’ says Tamil Nadu minister
Neither the AIADMK nor Kamal Haasan’s MNM won a seat in the Lok Sabha elections but the MNM garnered fiver per cent of votes.
Veteran AIADMK leader and Tamil Nadu’s co-operation minister Sellur K Raju took a swipe at actor-turned-politician and Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan on Saturday, saying that he could only be a chief minister in movies and not in real life.
Asked about Kamal Haasan expanding his party structure to include more state and region level functionaries, Raju said that the people of Tamil Nadu would never accept Kamal.
“Kamal Haasan is a good actor. However, the past Lok Sabha poll results have shown that people are not ready to accept him,” the minister told reporters.
Both the AIADMK and the MNM drew a blank at the Lok Sabha elections which the DMK-Congress alliance swept in Tamil Nadu.
Raju also said that AIADMK’s founder MG Ramachandran was the only man who was widely accepted by the people of Tamil Nadu.
“While launching party, Kamal said that he would not act in films. However, he failed to keep the promise. Now he’s working in movies as well as TV shows. MGR is the only actor who won the hearts of Tamil people. Kamal could not win the hearts of people, and he could be a CM only in movies,” Raju said.
Also read: Mamata and Nitish’s poll strategist Prashant Kishor to now help Kamal Haasan
The AIADMK leader also claimed that people were not taking the MNM chief as a serious politician.
“Everyone in the state is seeing him (Kamal) as just an actor. They are not taking the MNM leader as a politician,” Raju hits out.
But while the minister dismissed Kamal Haasan as just an actor, he was soft on the MNM chief’s celluloid rival Rajinikanth.
Raju welcomed Rajinikanth’s support for the Union government’s decision to scrap Article 370 in Jammu and Kashmir.
“While withdrawing ‘Dravida Nadu’ (Dravidian Nation) demand in 1960, our Dravidian stalwart and former chief minister CN Annadurai said we could not change the roof without a house. I see Rajini’s statement on Kashmir issue is also concurring with Anna’s vision,” Raju said.
The MNM brushed aside Raju’s comment on its leader. Its spokesperson Murali Abbas said the minister’s statement showed the AIADMK’s anxiety at the MNM’s growth.
“We are not an age-old party. But, we secured around five per cent vote in the recent LS polls. As we are making efforts ahead of the Tamil Nadu legislative assembly election 2021, AIADMK is afraid of us,” said Abbas.
He also stung Raju saying that the AIADMK minister cannot be a CM even in films.
“Since they (AIADMK men) have no points to criticise our ideologies and visions, they are making personal attacks. We don’t want to take it seriously. Raju is saying that our leader can only be a CM in films. But, I assert that Raju cannot act as a CM even in films,” said.
