When will Kamal Haasan enter politics? Here’s all that he has said of late

Veteran actor Kamal Haasan has been in news for two reasons -- first, for hosting the immensely popular Bigg Boss Tamil in its first ever season. However, he has also been talking a a fair bit on completely different field with equal fervour -- politics.

What began with incessant tweets when the Jallikattu row was at its peak in January this year became a flood in the days when the power struggle between V Sasikala and three-time chief minister of Tamil Nadu O Panneerselvam was making headlines.

However, it is his tweets and statements made in the last two months, which has caught peoples’ fancy. With Rajinikanth telling his fans to ‘prepare for war’ in May this year, hinting that he too plans to take the plunge into politics, many have been speculating that Kamal too will follow suit. If Rajinikanth is said to be close to PM Narendra Modi and might float his own political outfit, Kamal has been indicating his leaning towards the DMK. Kamal has mounted a scathing attack on the ruling AIADMK government, accusing several departments of rampant corruption.

Starting with his latest statement on demanding the resignation of the current chief minister of Tamil Nadu, Edappadi K Palaniswami, here is a look at all the issues Kamal has been talking about.

August 15, 2017
On the 70th Independence Day, Kamal fired a fresh salvo at the ruling AIADMK in Tamil Nadu by calling for CM K Palaniswami’s resignation on the issue of alleged corruption.

In a series of tweets, he also called upon people “who are brave enough” to take a pledge for a new freedom struggle, apparently against corruption. “If one state’s CM should resign for a mishap & corruption under his govt. How come no party calls for resignation in TN. Enough crimes done,” Haasan said without naming anyone.

If one state's CM should resign for a mishap & corruption under his govt. How come no party calls for resignation in TN. Enough crimes done

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) August 15, 2017

The veteran actor was apparently hinting at the demands by the Congress for the resignation of Uttar Pradesh chief minister Yogi Adityanath over the deaths of more than 60 children in a government-run hospital in Gorakhpur.

August 10, 2017
At the 75th anniversary of DMK mouthpiece, a Tamil daily called Murasoli in Chennai on August 10, the actor again spoke on politics. Seated on the dais alongwith MK Stalin, the working president of DMK, the actor took veiled potshots at Rajinikanth. The Kabali actor chose to be seated among the audience.

Attacking Rajinikanth indirectly, Kamal said: “Self-respect, not self-defence, matters most,” a New Indian Express report said.

Explaining why he chose to speak at the function as Rajinikanth refued to do so, Kamal said: “When I asked whether my friend Rajini would come to the event, they replied in the affirmative but noted that he would remain a spectator; I said I too wanted to be a spectator without taking the dais. Then I stood before a mirror and saw my image. I thought to myself, ‘hey fool! What an important function is this! What an opportunity you are going to fritter’.”

However, he rubbished any talk of him joining the DMK. He said: “I received a telegram from him (M Karunanidhi) in 1983 asking me why I shouldn’t join the DMK. I folded it and kept with me,” he recollected and added that the DMK patriarch hadn’t ever talked about it since then. “Till now, I haven’t responded to it either,” Kamal said.

Kamal added that the DMK chief did not ask him about it again due to his “magnanimity”.

August 1, 2017
Upping his ante against the ruling Palaniswami government, Kamal tweeted about how his fans had exposed government official’s negligence of serving rotten eggs in the midday meal to children at Perambaloor, Tamil Nadu.

Perambaloor expose’ of rotten eggs given to children deserves praise. Pls consult our in house lawyers be4 exposing crime Dont break laws”, tweeted Kamal Haasan.

Perambaloor expose' of rotten eggs given to children deserves praise. Pls consult our in house lawyers be4 exposing crime Dont break laws.

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) August 1, 2017

Kamal’s fans posted pictures on social media showing rotten eggs in blue. Soon after local TV channels picked it up and it became a hot topic, reported Sify.com.

In its defence, government said that it was normal practice to immerse eggs to find out whether it’s rotten or not. Besides, no children had taken ill as the said eggs hadn’t been served to them.

July 19
The issue of reporting midday meal rotten eggs case was in direct response to the actor asking his fans to report cases of corruption to the government.

On July 19, Kamal asked his fans to report cases of corruption in government departments to the concerned ministers online. “Let a few lakh complaints reach ministers. Will you arrest all? Or will you respond? In the entire south there wouldn’t be space for all in jails” the 62-year-old actor tweeted.

He insisted that the complaint ought to be sent via email as paper would be torn and thrown away.

Earlier in the month, at a press meet to answer allegations of vulgarity in his debut reality TV show Bigg Boss Tamil, Kamal had said, “There’s corruption everywhere in the state”.

On that occasion he had received support both from DMK’s MK Stalin and former chief minister O Panneerselvam, who had been in a power struggle with Sasikala, post J Jayalalithaa’s death.

Mr Stalin had said, “In a democracy everyone has the right to question the government.”

Mr Panneerselvam too said, “Tamil Nadu ministers shouldn’t speak like threatening Kamal Haasan. The government should respond only to the issues raised.”

July 18
A day later, Kamal left everybody guessing as he put a Tamil poem on his Twitter, which many read as an obvious hint at signalling his formal entry into politics.

“Let us criticise as nobody now is the king. We will standup as we are not a king like you. Defeated and dead then militant. If I decide, I am chief minister. Those who bow are they slaves? Those who give up crown are they losers?

“It is wrong chase them as fools. The paths which are not searched will not be seen. Come with me friend, one who attempts to avoid fanaticism/superstition is a leader,” Kamal tweeted on Tuesday night.

புரியாதோர்க்கு ஆங்கில பத்திரிக்கைகளில் நாளை வரும் சேதி pic.twitter.com/yoFMD8jeJO

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) July 18, 2017

February 2017
Speaking at the height of power struggle between Sasikala and Paneerselvam in February this year, the actor had backed Paneerselvam, insisting that Sasikala ought to back off.

As the in-fighting in the ruling AIADMK peaked, the actor spoke of how angry people were because the politicians weren’t getting their act together. He had then said that O Paneerselvam was competent and that Sasikala ought to back off.

“Time of dice playing was done with in Mahabharat. We can’t be playing dice and hawking our family wives and lives, in favour of some numbers [Sasikala’s MLA support]. We don’t trade. We are the people,” Haasan had told Rajdeep Sardesai in an interview to India Today.

On Sasikala imposing her will, he said, “Even I cannot impose my will. I can speak what I think, but can’t impose. I may be proven wrong, but I must speak. Tamil Nadu has not had the best of service from politicians for more than 60 years. The first 10 years were glorious, but Congress..Kamraj-ji, Raja-ji.. they all became complacent. Then came Dravidian parties. Those promises were also not kept,” said Haasan.

(With agency inputs)