CHENNAI: Actor Kamal Haasan will begin his political avatar on February 21 from the house of Kalam – the abode that gave wings to the dreams of APJ Abdul Kalam the top-notch scientist who rose to become the first citizen of India – in Rameswaram island.
Announcing the fine details of his journey that will culminate in the naming of his political party, the actor remembered his meetings with Kalam and pointed out that he too shared the vision of the late president who dreamt of a “good Tamil Nadu.”
On Tuesday, Kamal had announced that he will kickstart his state-wide tour from his native Ramanathapuram district on February 21 to interact with the masses on what they expect from their future leaders.
In his weekly column in Tamil magazine Ananda Vikatan that appeared on Thursday, Kamal also argued that the term ‘Dravidian’ should not be restricted to Tamil Nadu alone and wanted other southern states – Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Karnataka and Kerala – also to be included so that the “chorus” gets heard in Delhi – the country’s capital.
“Chandrababu Naidu (Andhra CM), Pinnarayi Vijayan (Kerala CM), Chandrashekhar Rao (Telangana CM) and Siddaramaiah (Karnataka CM) are also Dravidians. Let us not claim that only Tamils are Dravidians. Let us share the term with those who speak other languages so that our hands are further strengthened,” the actor said.
Calling himself an ardent fan of Kalam though “I did not get to meet him on many occasions,” Kamal said he wants to launch his political tour from the late leader’s residence to move forward towards his goal of establishing good political culture in Tamil Nadu.
“I met Kalam once during a flight journey and after that I really did not get many opportunities to interact with him. His family has been inviting me to their house for a very long time. I lost those opportunities in the past, but today I want to create that opportunity and visit his house. Yes, I want to begin this (political) journey from his (Kalam’s) house,” the actor wrote in his column.
“Kalam dreamt of leaving behind a good Tamil Nadu and I too have the same thought. When I move towards that, my full time job is not to be engaged only in criticism. My goal is people’s development,” Kamal
said.
On Tamil Nadu being the second largest tax contributor, veteran actor Kamal Haasan said: “I feel of late, sharing of taxes with states is not done well. It is fine to develop northern states with it since that is how even families help an unemployed sibling. But the gullible contributor should not be left to starve.”
