KOLLAM: Theirs was a hit combo in many blockbuster movies, however, Mukesh and Jagadeesh now find themselves in two different fronts, representing different ideologies. Both of them together met the journalists at Kollam press club as part of Janasabha-2016 and they faced the questions like seasoned politicians, with ease.
“The decision to field me at Kollam was taken by the CPM and I obliged,” said Mukesh, when he was asked about the controversies surrounding it. “I preferred to be in Kollam, which is my native place,” he added. On the allegations that it was payment seat, he responded in a lighter vein: “The people who know me for years could still not stop laughing to hear such a joke. It's all about the virtue in contesting, but not about payment,”" he quipped.
When asked about fielding film stars instead of veteran party workers, Mukesh was quick to respond: “Is it wrong that we acted in films? We are in a demanding profession and it is yet another profession,” he said.
Jagadeesh had a more comic response: “Yeah, of course, it is a payment seat. If I had earned crores I would have abstained from contesting. My name was unanimously recommended by the Congress leadership,” he said.
He added that contesting from an alien place is not a big concern: “Normally VIPs get seats from their home constituencies. I am not a VIP. Contesting from Pathanapuram is a privilege.” He said that what surround the government are allegations, not strictly corruption: Both are different. Allegations are corruptions only if they are proven," he said.
