Chennai, Dec 25 (UNI) Actor-politician Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) suffered a jolt when its  founding general secretary A Arunachalam quit the party and joined the BJP on Friday supporting three Farm Laws brought by the Centre.

Mr Arunachalam joined the BJP in the presence of Union

Minister Prakash Javadekar and party State Unit Chief

L Murugan.

Later, talking to reporters Arunachalam said he joined

the BJP after Kamal refused to support the Centre’s farm

laws.

Noting that Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister

Amit Shah have framed these three laws with a long term

vision that would benefit the farmers, he said 'since I

come from a farming family, I know the benefits of them.'

'When I urged my leader (Kamal) and the MNM leadership

to support the Centre’s decision, they refused', he said.

He also said he had asked the MNM leadership to not look

at the laws as having brought in by the BJP, but by the

Central government for the benefit the farmers in the

long term, but to no avail, leaving him with no option

but to quit the party.

Arunachalam also said he was blessed to join the BJP on

the occasion of the birth anniversary of former Prime

Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

UNI GV 1450