Actor and film producer Kamal Haasan on Wednesday took his fight against the Tamil Nadu government one step further, urging his fans and others to send email complaints against corruption to the ministers. Responding to a dare by a state cabinet minister that he should enter politics if he had the guts, he retorted that the day he spoke out against Hindi imposition he was a politician.
In a statement which he tweeted out, followed by an audio version released on WhatsApp, Kamal requested his fans and discerning people of Tamil Nadu to send complaints against corruption to the ministers concerned in a digital format, noting complaints on paper would be torn and thrown away. He addressed his statement not just to his fans, but also ‘the voters of TN who did not sell their votes for money’.
Listen to the audo clip here:
The actor has requested the people to explain the travails faced by them due to corruption and also ask questions in a respectable manner, and there was no need for him to act like a ‘priest’ between the people and the government.
The rulers should know that the people are more honourable, he said.
Kamal said there will be a few lakh questions and whether the ministers would arrest the questioners or would they provide an answer to those questions, remains to be seen.
The actor said he would cite the corrupt practices relating to his movie field.
He alleged that barring a few like him, others in the movie world are keeping silent to the corrupt drama enacted in the name of giving tax exemption certificates.
The well-accomplished actor, at times outspoken, is facing the ire of several ministers in Tamil Nadu for his recent comment that there is corruption in all the state government departments.
A request to my fans and the discerning people of TN. நேர்மையான தமிழகக் குடிமக்களுக்கும் ,என் தலைமையை ஏற்ற தொண்டர் படைக்கும் சமர்பணம் pic.twitter.com/OFqbDaJ5wS
— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) July 19, 2017
Similarly, some fringe outfits are also against the television reality show "Bigg Boss", hosted by him.
In response to his corruption charge, Municipal Administration Minister S.P. Velumani had challenged Kamal Haasan to prove existence of corruption in the government, and also asked the actor if he was ready to share the details of taxes paid by him for his films. Kamal said that this ‘threat’ evoked anger and laughter.
Tamil Nadu Finance Minister D. Jayakumar told reporters in Chennai on Monday that Kamal Haasan should enter politics "if he has the guts".
On Kamal's comments about corruption in Tamil Nadu government departments, Jayakumar said the actor is indulging in mudslinging and they will not keep quiet.
Kamal however said he had already entered the political arena the day he had voiced his opposition to Hindi imposition, either knowingly or unknowingly.
Inputs from IANS