Rajnikanth claims blasts attempt to unseat DMK-TMC
Superstar Rajnikanth made a veiled attack last night on the All-India Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Bharatiya Janata Party front for the serial blasts in Coimbatore. He said the blasts were part of an attempt to scuttle the chances of the ruling Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam-Tamil Maanila Congress combine in the general election.
Talking to Sun TV, the Karunanidhi family-owned private television channel, on his return from a holiday in Hong Kong, he ridiculed the demand for the dismissal of the state government following the blasts. If the Karunanidhi administration in the state was sacked, there would be a revolution in Tamil Nadu, he claimed.
Karunanidhi, Rajnikanth said, was a leader with self-respect and would resign if such blasts recurred. He himself would raise his voice in such an eventuality, the actor said. However, he said, the state government should own responsibility for the blasts, which, he claimed, was part of a plan hatched by an enemy power.
The blasts could not be the handiwork of Muslims as widely believed, he said, arguing that the community realised that a successful attack on BJP leader L K Advani could trigger a sympathy wave that would give the party full majority at the Centre. However, they should weed out the bad elements in the community, he said
Rajnikanth denied that he had come to the fore quickly enough when a single bomb blast occurred during the previous AIADMK regime but was keeping silent after the serial blasts now. He said Karunanidhi had given a fitting response to this allegation on his behalf, saying that he (Rajnikanth) had raised his voice after witnessing the growth of the bomb culture and the atrocities that occurred under Jayalalitha's rule.
The actor said the blasts were aimed at arresting the growth of the DMK-TMC combine and that the hand of rival political groups in Tamil Nadu could not be ruled out.
When Jayalalitha's charge that he had taken black money was raised, he said, yes, 20 years ago he used to get his salary in black money, but not anymore, especially after he got close to Union Finance Minister P Chidambaram. Jayalalitha was asking these questions though she herself came from the film industry, he said, implying such practices were normal there.
He said he neither received black money nor was he being probed under the Foreign Exchange Regulation Act, claiming he was the highest tax payer in the film world, a fact Jayalalitha could verify with the income tax department.
The matinee idol, who claimed that he was proud of his friendship with Advani, said the BJP leader had smeared his own image by teaming up with AIADMK for a few seats.
Rajnikanth then made his pitch for the DMK-TMC combine, telling his fans not to canvass for other parties. However, his fans in other parties could vote for other candidates as long as they did not use his name or the fan club for campaigning.
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