Letter to BS: Rajinikanth's views on Sterlite hurt sentiments of people

Actor Rajinikanth committed a grave error in pinning the blame for the police firing during Sterlite protests on “anti-social elements” without any evidence to substantiate his charge. In doing so, he rubbed salt into the wounds of the residents of Thoothukudi. Now that he has made the charge, he must disclose the details — of the “anti-social elements’’ — in order to be taken seriously in future. 

He should have avoided toeing the line of the Bharatiya Janata Party and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam on the Sterlite protests. It is sad that he chose to be the alter-ego of these parties and parroted their infiltration theory. His accusation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam is “politicising everything” made his desired political alignment clear. 

It must have been a sobering moment for the superstar when confronted by a victim of the police firing with the question “Who are you?”. His statement that Tamil Nadu will turn into a graveyard if people start protesting for everything is infantile, to say the least. He seems to lack sophistication to see things in a proper perspective. His advocacy “to crush anti-social elements with an iron hand”, without elaborating, betrayed the authoritarian streak in him. If his yelling at reporters is anything to go by, he still has a long way to go before transitioning into a liberal, media-friendly politician. No doubt he is an immensely popular actor. But he is unlikely to win the hearts and minds of the people of Tamil Nadu by making thoughtless and insensitive comments. 

G David Milton  Maruthancode

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