Chennai’s high profile Poes Garden witnessed chaos and commotion on Monday. The swanky residential area which lost the limelight after former chief minister Jayalalithaa’s demise in December, seems to be laying the way for yet another political leader. The Binny road in the city stood blocked in the morning as a Tamil fringe group walked down from near the US consulate to the Poes Garden to protest against Rajinikanth, the icon of Tamil cinema, who had recently dropped hints of his political entry.
The superstar's idea of political entry has been massively hit with strong oppositions and protests within the state even before he could make a start.
The actor witnessed all the wrath and opposition on a fateful Monday after he said he would take a plunge into politics if God willing.
Thamizhar Munnetra Padai, a radical pro-Tamil group, led by Veeralakshmi staged protests and demanded that “Kannadiga” Rajinikanth stay away from politics. The group tried to lay siege to the actor's Poes Garden house prompting police to cordon off the road leading to his residence.
The actor, however, called himself “pachhai Thamizhan”(pure Tamilian). “I lived in Karnataka for just 23 years. I have lived in Tamil Nadu for 44 years. I am a true Tamilian. If you ask me to leave Tamil Nadu and go, I will only land in the Himalayas and not go to any other state. Though I came from Maharashtra, you people nurtured me and made me a true Tamilian,” Rajinikanth said on the fifth day of his fans' meet. While the BJP leaders, including its national president Amit Shah, welcomed Rajinikanth into politics and said it was his will and wish, voices against his move are also getting louder in the state over the past few days.
Rajinikanth’s remarks on getting into politics and his comments on the corrupt system and on the leaders of various political parties had triggered a controversy leading to debates and discussions in the state.
In Madurai, the actor's effigy was burnt and slogans were raised against his speculated political entry.
Rajinikanth on Monday met around 200 of his fans who have already taken the issue forward sensing the political vacuum in the state after Jayalalithaa and Karunanidhi. Posters put up by his fans said, “We are ready for the war. Come Thalaiva.” Rajinikanth, in fact, on Friday had asked his fans to be prepared for a war.
