lChennai : Tamil filmdom’s superstar Rajinikanth is caught in the eye of a political controversy over his proposed visit to Sri Lanka to inaugurate 150 homes constructed for displaced ethnic Tamils in Jaffna town with political groups opposing it.
An organisation called, Gnanam Foundation, which is administered by Sri Lanka-based Lyca Productions, a leading film production company that had entered Kollywood a couple of years ago, had invited the actor to hand over the keys to the beneficiaries on April 9. Rajinikanth had agreed to attend the event.
Firing the first salvo against the actor’s visit, Thol Thirumavalavan, the leader of Viduthalai Chiruthaigal Katchi, said the actor’s proposed visit could be politically motivated. He said Sri Lanka, which is facing international flak for its alleged war crimes against the ethic Tamils during the Eelam War-IV, is trying to gain political goodwill by facilitating such events. “Rajinikanth has never spoken about the Tamils in Sri Lanka. I strongly feel that the Sri Lankan government has roped in him through Lyca Productions to make it appear as if they were working to help Tamils rebuild their lives when that’s not the case. I appeal to Rajinikanth not to go to Jaffna,” Thirumavalavan said.
Likewise, Panruti Velmurugan, founder of the Tamizhaga Vazhuvurimai Katchi, a splinter group of the PMK, strongly opposed the actor’s proposed visit. “At a time when the United Nations is discussing the war crimes committed by Sri Lanka, such a visit is unwarranted,” he said.
