Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami on Thursday launched a scathing attack on actor-politician Kamal Haasan saying the latter was spoiling families through his Bigg Boss television show and films.
Haasan, who entered politics founding the Makkal Needhi Maiam two years ago, has been hosting the reality show Bigg Boss in Tamil for the past over three years.
Two factors have irked Palaniswami. One, the actor, who launched an early campaign for next year’s Assembly elections hitting the road in southern Tamil Nadu, has suddenly begun to stake claim to the legacy of late actor-turned-Chief Minister M G Ramachandran (MGR), who is the founder of the ruling AIADMK. He even said that while many of the State Ministers have not seen MGR, he had sat on his lap as a child. Two, on Thursday, Haasan referring to recent raids and seizure of wealth from some State Government officials, tweeted that they were only following in the footsteps of the Government.
When a journalist asked the Chief Minister about the tweet, he launched a full scale attack on the actor-politician. “After retirement [in films] he has launched a party now. What does he know? At 70, he is conducting Bigg Boss. When such people enter politics, what would happen? Families would not prosper watching Bigg Boss,” he said.
Accusing that Haasan has no intention of doing good to the people, he charged that the actor’s only role is to spoil good families. “Not just children, good families will get spoilt watching his programme. Can’t he do better programmes on social issues or advise for school students? MGR spread social messages in films. Has he [Haasan] done that in any song? His films have no messages. Families would be finished off watching his films,” he charged.
The Chief Minister objected to Haasan staking claim to MGR’s legacy. He said the AIADMK alone qualified to use MGR’s name and if Haasan is using it, that only indicated that he had no influence of his own.
Haasan responded to the tirade with a cryptic tweet: “That even the Chief Minister watches Bigg Boss gives me happiness.”
