It’s for people to decide if BJP is dangerous, clarifies Rajini

CHENNAI: A day after he made remarks which were interpreted as critical of BJP, actor Rajinikanth sought to clarify his position on Tuesday, saying it was for the people to decide if the party was dangerous or not.

Rajinikanth said the media had asked him on Monday whether BJP was “so dangerous” that several opposition parties were ganging up against it. “I replied, if they think so, it should be so for them. BJP is dangerous for the opposition parties,” Rajinikanth explained, while declining to give his personal opinion on it.

“Whether BJP is dangerous or not, it is for the people to decide,” the actor told reporters outside his Poes Garden residence here.

When pressed further on the subject, the actor said, “If 10 people gang up against one, who is the strongest?” He, however, laughed it off when asked whether he meant Prime Minister Narendra Modi or BJP.

“I am not fully into politics yet. Hence, I cannot give my personal opinion,” he said. That response led the media to ask him about his planned foray into politics. “That work (strengthening his Rajini Makkal Mandram) is on. I have reiterated it several times. People will get fed up if I keep repeating it,” he said.

Rajinikanth also sought to set the record straight on the seven convicts imprisoned in the Rajiv Gandhi assassination case, as his response the previous day had created confusion. “A false campaign is on about my knowledge on this. I am well aware of the seven convicts undergoing imprisonment. I even spoke to Perarivalan – one of the seven convicts – for 10 minutes and consoled him, when he came out on parole,” said Rajinikanth.

“The question was about the Centre deciding on its own, without seeking the President’s opinion, on the Tamil Nadu government’s plea to release the seven convicts. I said I was not aware about such a development. I am not an idiot, not to be aware about the seven convicts. They have undergone imprisonment for 27 years. It’s enough. They should be released on humanitarian grounds,” Rajinikanth said.