Nor is he one to close any doors. Rajnikant went on to add that if he was destined to enter politics, he would float his own party—a statement which came as a major blow to the hopes of the Congress. "My path is always unique," the star thundered. "If I were to participate in the governance of the state, I would ensure that 5.5 crore people of Tamil Nadu participated in the task."
While his refusal to enter the election fray gave a welcome breather to the AIADMK, the party was less than pleased with Rajnikant one-liners, such as: "The ruling party here is not AIADMK but JMDK." He, however, conceded one good quality in Jayalalitha—her self-confidence.
But what has created a storm of controversy following the telecast is that a portion of the national anthem was played at the end of the interview and the visual was a film clip in which Rajnikant was seen hoisting the national flag. According to a constitutional expert, barring the President's speech, the national anthem cannot be an epilogue for any other person's tele-cast. "How can the state-owned Doordarshan play the national anthem at the end of Rajnikant's interview?" he asks.
The AIADMK is up in arms but has quietly withdrawn its plan to launch an agitation against Doordarshan. Tamil Nadu Information Minister M. Thennavan says: "The Congress is spreading a smear campaign through Doordarshan. If this is not misuse of power, what is?" Says DMK chief M. Karu-nanidhi: "It is a fact that Doordarshan has an infamous history of being the mouthpiece of the ruling party at the Centre."
The star interview had another interesting twist: Rajnikant's public acknowledgementof the role of actor-turned-journalist Cho S. Ramaswamy in the entire affair. Ramaswamy has been trying to work out political space for the national party in Tamil Nadu and has been consistent in opposing the regional parties. The media blitz was orchestrated by Ramaswamy through his writings as well as through his famous question and answer session in a satellite channel. In fact, the structure of the Rajnikant show on Doordarshan was modelled on the Ramaswamy programme. Rajnikant told the tele- viewers: "Cho is a great intellectual, a good man and my good friend."
The maestro of estyle , however, still keeps his fans guessing. His confidants claim the star has no political ambitions and that there is enormous pressure from the Congress at the Centre. "Any person who earns crores has to respect the Central Government. But for the pressure from the Income Tax Department, M.G. Ramacha-ndran would not have quit the DMK in 1972," observes Dravidian movement scholar R. Thiagarajan.
But Rajnikant's refusal to come out openly in favour of the Congress has dashed its hopes of a return to power in Tamil Nadu after a gap of 28 years. After backing Rajnikant to the hilt, it is now impossible for the Congress to forge an alliance with Jayalalitha. And the DMK has foreclosed the option by announcing its electoral understanding with the N.D. Tiwari Congress.
For the first time since 1967, the Congress will have to face the electorate alone for a Lok Sabha election in Tamil Nadu. "We should not have created the hype about Rajnikant. Even the Prime Minister couldn't convince him to join us. We have become the laughing stock by backing an unwilling horse," says a senior Congress leader.
Two political parties have always been against the actor's entry into politics—Sub-ramanian Swamy's Janata Party and S. Ram-doss' PMK. Says V.S. Chandralekha, state president of the Janata Party, "Enough of filmi-style politics. We have had more than an overdose of it." According to Ramdoss, Tamil Nadu has suffered due to star-turned-politicians coming to power and Rajni-kant's renunciation of politics—even if only for the forthcoming elections—would help create space for a better political culture
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