Speaking at an event announcing the launch of his app, ‘Maiam Whistle’, in Chennai on Tuesday, 7 November, actor Kamal Haasan said he was ‘impregnated’ with politics, confirming he is now ready to play a part in Tamil Nadu politics.
While rumours were rife that the app was put out to help the actor launch his own party, Haasan said his app would be a “whistleblower of sorts.”
Many speculated that today (7 November) I will announce my political party. But I have to do a lot of groundwork, which is what we have been sitting and analysing.Kamal Haasan
He said he plans to travel across the state and understand the grievances of the people. ‘Maiam Whistle’ is not just an app, it will be a platform of sorts that will reach out to every single corner of Tamil Nadu.
Haasan hoped to launch the app and reveal his team by January 2018.
This app is open. You can even blow the whistle against me in the future if I make a mistake.
Saying that groundwork was an important part of his political journey, Haasan said his political party would need a strong structural form to achieve its larger goal. He said he was confident that the people of the state would follow him.
The people of Tamil Nadu need change and that is probably the reason why they will follow me. We are going to be different. We are going to be honest.Kamal Haasan
Meanwhile, elaborating on the recent controversy he courted around the ‘Hindu terror’ comment, Haasan clarified that he meant ‘extremists’ and not ‘terror’.
The actor had received flak from right-wing groups after he had commented that in the past, Hindu right-wing groups would not indulge in violence and would hold dialogues with opposing parties instead, but today, the terror has spread to their camps as well.
I am not starting a party to hurt Hindus. I come from a Hindu family and I do not want to lose the affection of my family first. But when mistakes are made, I will speak about it. I am not a hypocrite.
Haasan has made it clear that his new political group will have little in common with the BJP. "Saffron is not my colour," he had explicitly said recently. He has been equally dismissive of the Tamil Nadu government, describing it as corrupt and self-serving.
My dream is to create a good Tamil Nadu. I have been waiting for a change for many years.
Haasan took to Twitter on Monday, 6 November, to call off his birthday celebrations. “Tomorrow is just another day if you just celebrate and fail to seize it. If we can make it better in pursuit of a cause then we become the change we seek," the actor tweeted.
Earlier in the morning, the national award-winning actor visited a medical camp set up by his welfare movement, Narpani Iyakkam, at Avadi, 20 km from Chennai.
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