The DMK on Friday called Rajinikanth a puppet in the hands of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said he was putting his fans down in a first-time attack on the superstar, who responded by saying no one can drive a wedge between him and his followers.

The principal opposition party in Tamil Nadu came out with the stinging criticism of the actor, who has made his political ambitions clear but is yet to launch his political party formally, in its mouthpiece, ‘Murasoli’.

The DMK had been publicly claiming that the entry of either Rajinikanth or Kamal Hassan was of no consequence and that it would not give them any attention.

In a question and answer section in Murasoli, Rajinikanth has been painted as a black sheep, who is out to destroy Dravidian ideals in tandem with the saffron party.

The half-a-page write up questioned Rajinikanth’s political ambitions and accused him of acting against the interest of his fans. It also referred to the actor’s strongly-worded statement, warning his fans that his party was not for those dreaming of office and power.

“If working as a fan club member for 30-40 years is not an eligibility for entering politics, how being an actor for the last 40 years alone could be so?” it asked.

The attack comes despite the actor’s proximity to the late DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi. He had even openly supported the DMK-Tamil Maanila Congress combine in the 1996 assembly election even though there was a clamour for him to take the political plunge.

His support to the DMK-TMC combine was seen as instrumental in routing J Jayalalithaa’s AIADMK then.

Responding to this, Rajinikanth expressed confidence in his faithful fan following.

“A few days before, I issued a strongly worded statement. But, I thank every one of my fans for understanding the truth and the reasons behind that. I am feeling proud to have such fans,” Rajinikanth said in a release issued to the media.

“Our path will be the right one and god will be with us,” the 67-year-old actor added.

Earlier in the day, he met senior officer bearers and functionaries of his fan club Rajini Makkal Mandram (RMM), which is slated to be converted into a political party.

“Rajini discussed a range of issues in the meeting. He explained the reasons behind the disciplinary action taken against a few functionaries,” a senior office-bearer of the RMM said while speaking to the Hindustan Times.

“He also urged us to get ready for a conference by the year-end likely in Trichy which is likely to be the first mass reach out,” the functionary said.

First Published: Oct 26, 2018 21:03 IST