Rajinikanth is here to stay and leaders of other political parties better start ways and means to check his caravan as it begins its journey across Tamil Nadu soon. This was stated by the film actor himself during a private function late Monday at Chennai.
“There has been a grounds well of public support to my announcement about the pre-conditions for launching the political outfit. As we approach the 2021 Assembly Election in Tamil Nadu, this could develop into a political tsunami in my favor,” said Rajinikanth.
Last Wednesday saw Rajinikanth addressing the media in Chennai after a brief interaction with the district-level office bearers of Rajini Makkal Manram. Though he did not take any questions from the media, he stated that there was a political vacuum in the State and people wanted a change. His declaration that he would not be the chief ministerial candidate has gone down well with Tamil nationalist film makers like Bharati Raja and Vadivelu, another super star who immediately announced their support to Rajinikanth.
Since Rajinikanth is not a natural Tamilian, there are reservations among Tamil chauvinist movie makers and artists against his political dreams. But his decision not to accept the chief ministership of the State and announcement that he would be a watch dog of the Government has been widely welcomed.
But the Muslim community in the State is not humored by the actor’s decision to venture out into the terrain of politics. “Rajinikanth is being deployed by the RSS-led sangh Parivar to mislead people in Tamil Nadu. All his plans, including two separate persons heading the party and the government resemble the RSS style. The Narendra Modi-Amit Shah experiment at the Centre is being extended to Tamil Nadu,” said P Abdul Rahman, vice president, Tamil Nadu Thowheed Jamaath.
Rahman said in a release that the Sangh Parivar’s efforts to enter Tamil Nadu met with a failure as the people could see through their “evil intentions”. “The RSS has selected Rajinikanth to implement their Hindutwa politics in the State and this would not work here,” he said. The TNTJ leader pointed out that the actor was fully behind the RSS in the CAA issue and that itself gave out his true colours.
But an interesting reaction came from K Manickavasagam, a decorated police officer from Thanjavur. “The exemplary and extraordinary political ideas are a preview to your outstanding brand of politics for providing a corruption-free, dynasty-free and service oriented government for the people of Tamil Nadu is a welcome move,” said Manickavasagam in a letter to Rajinikanth. The super star had declared last Wednesday that there would not be any professional politicians in the system envisaged by him and no one should join him with the aim of making money or occupying positions of power.
Manickavasagam, who was honored with the Chief Minister’s Gallantry Medal has also presented Rajinikanth with a copy of his service story, which the former said was written with a heavy heart. “This recording is a reflection of the corrupt and rotten political system of nowadays. I hope this book will come handy for him to usher in an unpolluted and uncorrupted fresh democratic politics,” Manickavasagam told this newspaper.
Even as mainstream political leaders are maintaining silence over the actor’s entry into politics, Tamil Nadu’s leading commentator S Gurumurthy is confident that Rajinikanth is cut out for the job. “There is space for him in Tamil Nadu politics and he is going to make the much delayed change,” said Gurumurthy.