Actor Rajinikanth, who largely remains on the sidelines of Tamil Nadu politics, criticised the state government for seeking to reopen the Tamil Nadu State Marketing Corporation (TASMAC) shops in the state even after the Madras High Court ordered them shut.
Taking a dig at the government’s move to reopen the state-run liquor shops to help the state’s revenue, the actor tweeted saying the government should find other good ways to fill its coffers.
Rajinikanth also noted that the AIADMK government can forget coming back to power if it reopens the liquor shops.
Rajini’s tweet on Sunday reads, “If the state reopens the TASMAC at this time, it must forget the dream of coming back to power again. Please #find_good_ways_to_fill_your_
இந்த நேரத்தில் அரசு டாஸ்மாக் கடைகளை மறுபடி திறந்தால் மீண்டும் ஆட்சிக்கு வரும் கனவை மறந்து விட வேண்டும். தயவுகூர்ந்து #கஜானாவை_நிரப்ப_நல்ல_வழிகளை_பாருங்கள்
— Rajinikanth (@rajinikanth) May 10, 2020
The actor’s tweet comes just a day after the Tamil Nadu government moved the Supreme Court challenging a Madras High Court order to close the state-run liquor outlets. In its appeal on Saturday, the state had noted that the Madras HC’s order would lead to a ‘complete and indefinite standstill of the sale of liquor in the state leading to grave losses to the state’s revenue and commercial activity in the state’.
Taking note of the crowding at liquor shops just a day later they opened, the Madras HC on Friday ordered the closing of all liquor shops in the state while allowing doorstep delivery through online mode.
Interestingly, actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s Makkal Needhi Maiam party too had filed a petition against the opening of TASMACs in the state. Others who filed petitions include lawyer B Ramkumar Adityan and former IPS officer AG Maurya.
After over a month of reminding closed, the TASMAC outlets in the state opened doors on May 7, except in state capital Chennai. On the same day, Kamal had written a scathing open letter to the government, accusing the leaders of embarking on ‘hairbrained plans bordering on genocide’.
Visuals that emerged from outside liquor shops across the state, reflecting the reports coming in from other parts of the country, showed tipplers crowding outside liquor shops, throwing all physical distancing norms to the wind.