Don’t force me to start a party: Kamal

Speaking to a Tamil news channel, the Viswaroopam actor said, “I want to see a doctor heading Health Department, an engineer at the top of PWD and so on.” “Today we live in a technology-driven world and there is a dire need to have individuals who know well about the departments at the top,” he added. 

When asked whether he would take the political plunge, Kamal said, “We all know how much money and efforts are needed to start a party. But don’t force me to do so.” Meanwhile, on the sidelines of an event, Jayakumar in a sarcastic note said, “If Kamal Haasan continues in the similar vein, then he may meet the same fate of the character that he had played in one of his earlier films (Moonram Pirai).” 

It may be recalled that in the last few days, Kamal and state Ministers were involved in a verbal battle.  It all started when a fringe Hindu outfit petitioned the  police demanding the arrest of the actor and a ban on the TV reality show ‘Bigg Boss’ anchored by him as it tarnishes Tamil culture.  

While addressing the media justifying the reality show, the actor alleged that the system has failed and the state government is steeped in corruption. He also alleged that there was rampant corruption in all departments across the state, triggering angry reactions from the state government and the Ministers, who launched a tirade against the actor and dared him to take the political plunge. Jayakumar also went to the extent of saying that Kamal  did not have the guts to enter politics.  

Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami said the actor did not know anything about politics and said he would react to his charges after Kamal entered politics.  However, various opposition parties, including the DMK, Congress, the left and Naam Tamizhar Katchi rallied behind the actor and said his remarks on corruption only reflected  the voice of the people. 

DMK working president MK Stalin said his party has been stridently levelling corruption charges against the ruling party. ‘’If the government has the guts let them file cases against us instead of  taking on Kamal. We will face them legally,” he had said. 

While Local Administration Minister Sellur Raju had said that cases would be filed against the actor if he continued  to make unsubstantiated allegations and challenged him to  present evidence, other Ministers, including C Ve Shanmugam  and S P Velumani, joined the chorus in taking potshots at the actor.