Kamal Haasan slams TN govt over dengue cases, asks to work or move aside

Chennai: Stepping up his attack on the Tamil Nadu government, actor Kamal Haasan on Friday asked it to act on reports of dengue fever or "move aside" if it cannot.

He also took a dig at the government on the National Entrance Cum Eligibility Test (NEET) issue, over which it has come under flak for not getting the state exempted from it.

"A high school drop out may not perceive Neet problem. But Dengue i know My child almost died of it (dengue). Work on it TN Govt. If unable move aside," (sic) Haasan tweeted.

He was apparently referring to reports of dengue fever affecting several people in parts of the state.

A woman and her two-day old baby had died of dengue in Coimbatore district on July 9.

The actor's latest statement comes amid his continuing war of words with the ruling AIADMK, including Chief Minister K Palanisamy, following his reported remarks of corruption in the government.

After being challenged by ministers to prove his charge or that he take the political plunge to expect a response to his allegations, the 62 year-old actor had on Thursday asked people to digitally register instances of graft in the
government.

"You should write to them if you had come across corruption in this government. Don't do that through letters or postcards as they will just tear those. Record them digitally and with dignity," he had said.

Responding to ministers demanding proof for his charges of corruption in government, Haasan said the entire state was making allegations in this regard and there were various media reports too.

The actor had said his detractors, "dear younger brother (D) Jayakumar (Finance Minister)", who wanted him to take the political plunge, or BJP's H Raja, were not aware that he has already entered politics.

"The day I expressed my voice against imposition of Hindi, I had become an amateur politician," he said in a statement uploaded on his Twitter page on Thursday night.

Meanwhile, Raja on Friday said the BJP was opposed to Haasan's reported plans to enter politics as the actor is an atheist and has attacked Hindu beliefs.

He was replying to a question why the BJP which was welcoming superstar Rajinikanth's plans to enter politics was against Haasan taking the plunge.

"The actor (Haasan) is an atheist to the core and has attacked Hindu beliefs and sentiments," Raja told reporters in Pudukottai.

There was a difference between Haasan entering politics and Rajinikanth taking the plunge, Raja said and claimed that the latter had not hurt any religion sentiments.

In Chennai, the BJP's Tamil Nadu unit president Tamilisai Soundarajan wondered why Haasan chose to speak now against the alleged corruption in the ruling dispensation and not in the past.