Chennai: Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan has landed before the DMK firing squad after charging the party president M K Stalin of 'copying' his rural connect initiative. Hitting back, the DMK said the actor had no chance of being aware of such meetings held by late M Karunanidhi and later by Stalin even as state LA minister, sin-ce the man had been dancing "duets with some heroine."
DMK mouthpiece "Murasoli," Monday said after learning that there are no takers for his party launched in the dream of becoming the Chief Minister,"Kamal Haasan has started to bemoan his frustration." The DMK mouthpiece Monday said during its rule, former party president and chief minister late M Karunanidhi had held such gram sabha meetings besides tasking ministers in his Cabinet to do so.
"The meeting that he (Karunanidhi) held was at Vinnamangalam village, part of the then North Arcot District. There is no chance for Haasan to know such things. During that period, he would have danced duet with some heroine."
Haasan should first learn "DMK's history," the party organ said, adding there is not "a village or hamlet," in the State where its leaders had not set their foot. The actor had thought that he was speaking cleverly, but had actually blabbered and it was brought out by the reply of DMK chief M K Stalin, the party daily said.
Haasan, the Makkal Needhi Maiam chief, without naming the DMK, has said it was "copying," his "gram sabha" rural connect initiative.
Haasan, who has relentlessly attacked the BJP in the recent past, had launched his gram sabha campaign last April and later visited villages like Adigathur (Tiruvallur district) as part of the initiative.
The DMK recently launched its "Ooratchi Sabai," a village level reach out initiative.
"Let me say openly, does not anyone know about the Gram Sabha?" Haasan asked at an event held here Sunday, adding that meetings in such basic unit of the panchayat raj model have been on for the past about 25 years.
"What were you (DMK) doing? After a small boy (referring to himself) spoke about that (gram sabha), you are now copying that. Are you not ashamed?" he said, amid applause.
He said his friends from anti-graft NGO 'Satta Panchayat' advised him on the gram sabhas and he could learn about it since he had resolved to listen.
Asked for his reaction, DMK chief Stalin, who was accompanying Puducherry Chief Minister V Narayanansamy in his dharna against Lt Governor Kiran Bedi, sarcastically said "we are now discussing politics."
