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Kamal Haasan says he has 'kind of courage' Mahatma Gandhi had

Kamal Haasan refuted the charge that the MNM was a 'B team' of the BJP

kamal haasan pti Kamal Haasan campaigning in Puducherry | PTI

The Makkal Needhi Maiam of cine icon Kamal Haasan has faced accusations of being a 'spoiler' even as it gears up to contest its first Assembly election in Tamil Nadu.

The MNM will contest in 154 of the 234 seats in Tamil Nadu, whiles its allies, All India Samathuva Makkal Katchi and Indhiya Jananayaga Katchi, will fight in 40 seats each.

Among the charges levelled at the DMK has been that it is a 'B team' of the BJP, which would eat into the anti-incumbency vote and thereby help the AIADMK-BJP alliance.

Earlier in March, DMK leader and former Union minister Dayanidhi Maran had alleged Haasan's party was the B team of the BJP. Maran alleged Haasan had changed colours in politics "very fast" and claimed the actor-politician's “bosses” were Union Home Minister Amit Shah and Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Campaigning for the MNM in Madurai on Tuesday, Kamal Haasan refuted the charge that the MNM was a 'B team' of the BJP. Haasan declared his party was the "A team" of Mahatma Gandhi.

"You should understand why I say that. During Noakhali riots, when even the Britishers feared to interfere, it was Gandhi, the half-dressed man, who brought peace there. That is the kind of courage I possess. In contrast, Prime Minister Modi campaigned in Pondicherry [Puducherry] after enforcing Section 144 of CrPC," Haasan was quoted as saying by The New Indian Express.

The Noakhali riots occurred in what was then East Bengal in October 1946, which saw large-scale killings, rapes and looting targeting Hindus in the region.

Haasan also assured his party would place a premium on probity in public life. "Stating that the candidates of the alliance entered politics not to earn money but serve people, Kamal said that they would write and sign their promises on a bond paper," The New Indian Express reported.

“Thirty-three per cent of the MLAs in the Tamil Nadu Assembly today are corrupt, but when we come to power we will cleanse the system, and my candidates will stand with you and fulfil your needs. He said that candidates would give it in writing on a bond paper, what they would deliver, or otherwise resign if they do not keep their word," Haasan was quoted as saying by The Times of India.

Haasan declared if MNM came to power, people could know of the expenditure in their respective constituencies through RTI.

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