On the last and concluding day of his meetings with fans from various districts in Tamil Nadu held at Chennai, Rajinikanth, the reigning superstar of Tamil tinsel town made it clear that he was ready to wage a battle to make the rotten system pure. But he left unanswered when, what and how about his future plans.
“Tamil Nadu has some of the best political leaders who could be described as visionaries. MK Stalin, working president of the DMK, Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, youth wing chief of the PMK, Thol Thirumavalavan, president of the VCK and Seeman are leaders with vision, ideas and leadership qualities. But the system is rotten. Democracy is rotten. The way people think of democracy has changed drastically. People’s notion about democracy needs to be changed,” said Rajinikanth while addressing his fans on Friday after being photographed with all who had come to meet him.
Hinting that he intends to clean the rotten system by waging a war, the superstar said that he was not sure when the battle would begin. “We have to wage a war. Now all I could tell you is to go home and do your work. The day we will have to wage a war, we will take care of it,” said the Thalaivar (as Rajinikanth is addressed by the fans).
He gave a befitting reply to those who make fun of him through social media about his non-Tamil background. “I was in Karnataka till I turned 22. For the last 44 years, I am in Tamil Nadu. It was people in Tamil Nadu who made me what I am today. You made me a Tamil with your unflinching support. I am a Tamil. If you ask me to get out of Tamil Nadu, all I have got to go is the Himalayas,” thundered Rajinikanth.
As Rajinikanth tweeted that he was extremely happy after his meeting with the fans, Tamil Nadu’s political class got into a huddle and started discussing the cascading effects of his decision.
But TS Sankara Narayanan, a BJP leader, who is an ardent Rajinikanth fan said the actor would not join politics. “I have been following him since 1992. Rajini sir knows that he would be safe if he is away from politics. The speeches he delivered are only meant for journalists. He knows he would get good media coverage,” he said.
Political commentators, who are well known for their opposition to the BJP said that the BJP at the Centre is dealing with Rajinikanth through a Chennai-based RSS ideologue. “The BJP’s central leadership would sponsor Rajinikanth to form an outfit with which the Hindutva party would forge electoral alliance. This is because the BJP’s style of politics would not be accepted in Tamil Nadu,” said Sam Rajappa, veteran commentator.
late Cho Ramaswamy, described as the cultural czar of Tamil Nadu, had always opined that Rajinikanth has the potential to emerge as a rallying point in Tamil Nadu politics.
There is a vacuum in Tamil Nadu caused by the exit of Jayalalithaa and Karunan-idhi. The question being asked is whether Rajinikanth could fill that space.