It’s time to sow seeds of change, says Kamal Haasan

MADURAI: This is the time to sow the seeds for a better change and don’t look for leaders because you are the leaders, said Makkal Needhi Maiyam president Kamal Haasan, who was campaigning for party candidate Gandhi in Ottapidaram in Tuticorin district on Saturday.
He said this was a different campaign, as they were not going to get into comparative politics, and state how they were better than the opponents. “We will ensure that the needs of the people are attended to and looked after if we come to power. They are using you like playthings and trying to rule you by giving you money. But, the money is not theirs but the money that they stole from you, so don’t sell your vote, use it very carefully,” he said.
Kamal Haasan said that he had been told that groundwater had been affected and that the people of this region were buying water at the rate of Rs 10 per pot. The rulers are only concerned about their businesses and do not worry about the indiscriminate sand mining on the riverbeds. If they are permitted to take three feet of sand, they will take 70 feet, a reason why people are suffering for water. He said that there were some campaign ethics which had to be followed, and speaking the truth was one of the ethics. “I am ready to face the Election Commission, if they say that I am speaking lies,’’ he said.
“I know how difficult it would be for an honest person to set right this problem. I am not saying I would give you water at a cheaper rate, but I tell you that the pot is yours and I will ensure that water reaches you as the water is also yours,’’ he said.
First time voters and women in the families should make it their responsibility to become the representatives of the Makkal Needhi Maiyam and help the elders in their families to vote for the best candidate, he added.