Chennai: Actor-politician Rajinikanth today clarified that he never aspired to become the Chief Minister of Tamilnadu and said that he only wants a change in political system.
”If change in politics and government does not happen now, it will never happen”, he said today. He also stated that his plans include different heads for his prospective party and a possible government headed by it.
In his first official press conference since 31 December, 2017, when he announced to take the political plunge, Rajinikanth said that he has plans appoint as Chief Minister, an educated youth who was compassionate and has self-respect.
With a two-leadership system for party and the government, the former would act as an opposition to highlight issues and would not even hesitate to remove, apparently the head of the government, if it fails to perform, he said.
His prospective party would focus on including a substantial amount of youngsters in the age group of below 45 years while the rest would comprise retired judges and IAS and IPS officials among others. ”I myself would reach out to them and invite them,” to join him, the 71-year-old actor said.
”Had I wanted to be the Chief Minister, I could have got it in 1996. This is not the first time I am saying this. Even on 31 December, 2017 I said this. Do I want to have something which I did not want at the age of 45?”, Rajinikanth said.
”In Tamilnadu, there are two political giants, who are well established. On the one side is a party which has not been in power for almost 10 years, backed by a strong structure and willing to spend money as much as possible to come to power. On the other side is the ruling party with its hold over the the government treasury. Between these two giants, we have to o make our entry. It will not be an easy task,” Rajinikanth said.
”We have to change the way things are happening for the last 54 years. I want to see an uprising and a people’s movement wanting a change. I want to see it before my eyes, and then I will make a grand entry”, he added.
He called for an uprising by youth, after which he would make his formal announcement on his political party. ”There were two stalwarts in our politics, one was Jayalalithaa and one was Kalaignar M Karunanidhi. People voted for them but now, there is a vacuum. Now, we need to create a new movement to bring change”, he added.
”I want Tamilnadu to be in the forefront of change once again. I want it to spread across India,” he said.