Kamal Haasan said that his body of work is proof that he is different from other political groups whose initial enthusiasm withered away with time. Haasan made these comments at a private event in Chennai held on Friday.
Kamal Haasan’s party, Makkal Needhi Maiam, is currently involved in the process of preparing a manifesto that will help people to understand his party and its objectives better.
Reiterating the need for development, he said: “The welfare of a city is visible on the horizon. Structures dominating the skyline tell about the welfare of the people of that city.”
He also lamented about the authorities’ negligence towards infrastructure facilities. “Everybody is eager to celebrate upon winning medals, but no one bothers to stop for a second and think about the infrastructure that has to go into it.”
Regarding the existing controversy over the proposed Salem-Chennai expressway which has Rajnikanth and Kamal Haasan taking up opposing stands, Haasan came up with an interesting analogy. “Changing one’s parents messes with the DNA. Similarly, existing roads have to be widened rather than going for new ones.”
“Defence capabilities may be important but the need of the hour is employment opportunities and not roads that can support the landing of aircraft,” added Haasan.
During the Q&A session that followed the speech, Haasan said that the first thing he would do if he came to power was to redraft the Lokayukta Bill as he felt that the current version was diluted.
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He opined that incidents like Thoothukkudi were a result of the government not paying heed to the people. He said that the location of the industry mattered as much as the nature of the industry.
On being asked about his vision for the state, he said that he gave utmost importance to “great education”, “roof over everyone’s head”, decongestion of cities” and “smart villages.” He said that people should not have to look at cities with awe and should want to go back to their villages instead.