Actor Rajinikanth on Tuesday clarified his comment about the Bharatiya Janata Party being “dangerous”, saying that the voters will decide if the party was dangerous or not.
On Monday, the actor appeared to agree with the Opposition’s claim that the ruling BJP is “dangerous”. “If parties here believe the BJP is dangerous, then it must be,” NDTV quoted him as saying. Rajinikanth was responding to questions about Opposition parties coming together to form a third front to defeat the BJP in the Lok Sabha elections next year.
“I was asked if BJP was a dangerous party,” Rajinikanth said on Tuesday, according to News18. “I answered that the united front thinks it is a dangerous party. If it [BJP] is a dangerous party or not, the voters will decide.”
The actor said he cannot give a political opinion on the BJP since he has not entered politics. “Even people in films should be careful about what they can or cannot say,” he said. “We should be aware of the sensitive issues that are going on.”
Rajinikanth also seemed to suggest that Prime Minister Narendra Modi was stronger than 10 persons aligning against him. “When 10 persons go against one person, who is stronger? If 10 persons declare a war against one man, who is stronger?” he said.
When asked if he was implying that Modi was stronger than 10 people, he said he could not “be more clear”, PTI reported.
Last December, the actor had announced that he will contest the next Assembly elections in Tamil Nadu in 2021. Rajinikanth added he will decide on whether to contest the Lok Sabha elections, too, at a later stage. It has since been speculated that Rajinikanth, considered to be close to the BJP leadership, will tie up with the saffron party.
BJP spokesperson Narayanan Thirupathy claimed that Rajinikanth’s remark was a jibe at the opposition parties, India Today reported. “This remark is to mock the opposition and not support the BJP,” said Thirupathy. “Speaking about an alliance, we will know only when the elections are nearing.”
Rajinikanth, who supported demonetisation when the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance government announced the decision two years ago, appeared to have had a change of heart. “The implementation was flawed,” he said in Chennai. “It is a matter that should be discussed in detail.”
Actor Kamal Haasan, who also announced his entry into active politics in Tamil Nadu in 2017, had in February said he hoped Rajinikanth’s “colour is not saffron”.
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