Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Friday said while the “party’s voice will be heard in Parliament (Rajya Sabha) this year,” it would be heard in the State Assembly next year.
Addressing at the party’s 8th founding day celebrations in Chennai, Mr. Haasan said he rues the fact that he didn’t enter politics almost twenty years ago.
“Those who like me, my critics and opposition leaders, tell me I am a politician who was defeated. I will tell you what I feel about my defeat in the elections. I should have entered politics at least 20 years ago. That’s my defeat. If I had come 20 years ago, the words that I speak and where I would be standing would be different,” he said.
Mr. Haasan added he did not come to politics to become the Chief Minister.
“I didn’t come here to become the Chief Minister. I wanted to restructure everything. Gandhi and Periyar are my inspirations. They didn’t care about positions. Did Ambedkar leave India because he lost? His works should be available to Indians. He didn’t agree with Gandhi, but he ensured that Ambedkar was the one who drafted the constitution,” he said.
Mr. Haasan further said, “We are in the 8th year (since the founding of Makkal Needhi Maiam). In this year, our voice will be heard in Parliament. Next year, your voice will be heard in State Assembly. Every year, we are celebrating this day. But, we have to count them as stepping stones,” he said.
He also weighed in on the recent controversy over refusal of the Union Government to disburse funds under Samagra Shiksha scheme to Tamil Nadu for not adhering to the three-language formula.
“Tamils have encountered this situation before. Those who opposed Hindi imposition would have grey beards now. People have given up their lives for Tamil language in Tamil Nadu. Even a child will know how much food it needs…won’t Tamils know if they need Hindi or not? Instead of teaching students what they need, Government cannot say they won’t give money to spend if students don’t learn what they want to teach,” he said. “This country cannot be divided and ruled. Those who wanted to do it found that they would have to quit India. Nobody can tell me what language I need to study,” he said.
Published – February 22, 2025 12:23 am IST
