Kamal Haasan slams MK Stalin's gram sabha meets, ridicules Rajinikanth

CHENNAI: Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) leader Kamal Haasan has ridiculed veteran actor Rajinikanth for abstaining from contesting in the upcoming Lok Sabha elections saying this was akin to a wrestler gearing up to fight but suddenly withdraws.

“This is something like a wrestler who gears up for a showdown but suddenly backtracks. If you refuse to eat after the (banana) leaf is laid out with a spread of dishes claiming you are on diet, would not anyone ask why you had come (to the dining table)?” Kamal asked while speaking a function in MRC Nagar here on Sunday.

Maintaining that one should not boycott polls, he said people will not respect leaders if they form a party and then abstain from contesting in elections. “One should contest in the Lok Sabha election for the betterment of Tamil Nadu,” he said. Tamil Nadu, the veteran actor said, should not think it can exist without Delhi and those in Delhi should not think of living a life isolating Tamil Nadu. “We should take this pledge and hoist the flag and should not deviate. That's why we will contest the 40 seats,” he added. Contending that one should be concerned about who comes to power in Delhi, as the political development there would affect the people of TN, he said he has decided to contest for the well-being of TN. Later speaking to reporters the MNM leader accused the DMK of copying his idea of holding gram sabha meetings across the State. “Are they (DMK) not ashamed of copying our acts?” he asked and took a dig at DMK president MK Stalin saying “if my shirt gets torn in the Assembly, I would rather buy a new one and wear it before stepping out of the Assembly,” he said.