Kamal Haasan claims Centre denied funds to TN

Actor-politician Kamal Haasan came down heavily on the BJP-led Centre for withholding funds to be given to Tamil Nadu. The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief on Friday said that there were several reasons due to which he decided to align his party with the ruling DMK as he campaigned for DMK candidate KE Prakash in Tamil Nadu’s Erode. Stating that the Centre has given minimal funds to the state, Kamal Haasan alleged that it only returned 29 paise to the state out of every rupee contributed to the union government. But, states like Bihar get more money for every rupee, he stated. It is not known if the tax revenue collected by the Centre reached “brothers”, as they too come to Tamil Nadu for “coolie” work, Haasan said without elaborating further. “Where it is going? (tax collected from Tamil Nadu and contributed to the Centre),” questioned Kamal Haasan. The MNM chief further said though the East India company was driven out of the nation, a company has now come from West India. “It is a place where Gandhiji was born,” he said in a veiled reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s home state Gujarat and also the BJP.