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Journalism of Courage
Actor Rajnikant today stopped short of unequivocally backing the AIADMK-BJP front, saying he would vote for the combine that stood for interlinking of rivers but his fans were free to choose which way to go.
He would vote for the BJP-led NDA as he has received assurances from the highest quarters that the next government would go in for interlinking of rivers after the elections. He would not, however, impose his decision on his fans and thus disenfranchise them.
However, while winding up, he did call upon the people to stop and think whether they were going to vote on the basis of caste and party considerations or give priority to the water issue for which interlinking of rivers was the only solution.
‘‘As far as I am concerned I will vote for the party which will solve the water crisis in the country. When others are not able to take a decision on the question of linking of the rivers, the NDA government led by Prime Minister Vajpayee has fully committed itself to the cause and included the subject in the election manifesto. DPM Advani also told me the scheme would be implemented at any cost. I have complete faith in Vajpayee government. So I will vote for the BJP alliance,’’ he said, breaking his prolonged silence on the elections.
Stressing the linking of the rivers was the only way to resolve the water crisis, Rajnikant said Tamil Nadu would be the worst-affected state if the project did not materialise. ‘‘While the neighbouring states like AP, Kerala and Karnataka have perennial rivers, Tamil Nadu has no such rivers,’’ he said.
The ageing superstar also took on PMK leader Dr Ramadoss, saying he has refrained from reacting to his provocations for long.
Rajnikant said he had remained quiet even when Ramadoss had called for the dismantling of his fan clubs. But when the PMK leader described him as a pig wallowing in mud, his fans were outraged and he could not control them any longer, he said.
He warned Ramadoss to stop his ‘‘atrocities’’ and said he was sparing him only because he had taken refuge in the house of his friends, meaning the DMK-led Democratic Progressive Alliance.
