Arvind Kejriwal, Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party leader, will be attending actor-politician Kamal Haasan’s party launch in Madurai on Wednesday, 21 February, sources confirmed.
The insiders added that Kamal had called on Kejriwal in September last year, and the latter had urged him to join active politics.
“Kamal Haasan has a reputation of having integrity and courage. When the country is facing strong forces of corruption and communalism, all like-minded people should talk to each other and work in tandem. I was happy when I learnt that there are a large number of honest people in this country who feel strongly against communalism, but only a few people have the courage to stick their neck out. Kamal Haasan is a rare person like that,” Kejriwal had said then.
Kamal will reach Madurai on Tuesday, 19 February, to finalise arrangements for his rally, which will take place on Wednesday. At the rally, he will announce the name of his party and unfurl the party flag at 6 pm, at the Ottakattai Grounds.
He will then embark on a tour of the state, starting from Ramanathapuram, before going to Madurai, Sivaganga and Dindigul.
He had first announced this in his weekly column in Ananda Vikatan and had said that he will commence his tour at former President Abdul Kalam's residence.
Saying that he has a long-standing invitation from Abdul Kalam’s family, he wrote, “I lost all the opportunities to visit then. But, this time, I think I will create my own opportunity and visit (them).”
The actor-turned-politician has become increasingly critical of the Tamil Nadu government following the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa. In November last year, he had confirmed his political entry by announcing the launch of a whistleblower app.
In December last year, his contemporary Rajinikanth also announced his political entry with the formation of a yet-to-be-named party. Kamal had wished him well and said that he would be undertaking a journey to meet people in February.
(The story has been published in an arrangement with The News Minute)
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