CHENNAI: A couple of days after lashing out at veteran actor Rajinikanth for his political aspirations and calling him a “puppet” in the hands of the BJP, the DMK’s mouthpiece Murasoli on Sunday almost expressed ‘regret’ for the article targeting the actor. The newspaper said the editorial team has been advised to refrain from writing such pieces in future.
“It has been brought to our notice that the article on Superstar Rajinikanth which appeared in Murasoli has hurt some good hearts. The editorial (team) has been advised to be cautious while publishing such write-ups,” the DMK organ said in its Sunday edition.
It is said that this is the first time the newspaper, started by DMK patriarch M. Karunanidhi as a handwritten pamphlet in 1942, has expressed anything close to a ‘regret’ for an article.
The exact reason for publishing the ‘corrective measure’ has not been made official. But rumour mills have it that Rajini, known for his closeness to former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, took up the issue with DMK chief M. K. Stalin.
The satirical piece titled “He is the black sheep meh meh meh” — a reference to a line from the actor’s film Enthiran, criticised the actor for disrespecting the hard work put in by his fans over the years.
An upset Rajini was said to have spoken to DMK chief MK Stalin and thereafter the ‘advisory’ was published in Murasoli. The DMK organ published a boxed news item with instruction from Murasoli editor S. Selvam. But for the terse statement, there was no explanation on who was hurt or why and the paper did not issue a formal regret.
The organ had, in an article in its October 26 issue accused Rajini of being a puppet in the hands of “some persons” and being supported by “communal” elements, which was published in a question-answer format under the pseudonym “Silanthi” (spider in Tamil). “Those who are speaking for you in the media are communal (elements), who want to divide the Tamil community, which exists after transcending caste and religion,” it had said. It had asked Rajinikanth to be cautious, saying “a group” was trying to destabilise his popularity, and added that anyone dancing to the tunes of the group would lose sheen.
Recently the actor had made it loud and clear that he would launch his party soon and his brother too reiterated that Rajini would announce the launch dates this December. “He is sure to launch the party,” Sathyanarayana Rao had said.
The actor had not formally responded to the article but the ‘change’ in stand had been spontaneous. Amidst this sudden development, former Union Minister and Congress senior P. Chidambaram, while speaking to a Tamil news channel, welcomed Rajinikanth to join the DMK-Congress alliance ahead of 2019 Lok Sabha polls.
