CHENNAI: Actor Rajinikanth on Tuesday denied TVK’s senior functionary Aadhav Arjuna's remarks regarding his entry into politics.
In a statement issued five days after Aadhav made the remarks, he said, “Aadhav Arjuna, who holds a senior leadership position in TVK, has recently made a remark that is contrary to the truth.”
Rajinikanth, in his statement, thanked all politicians, journalists and members of the film fraternity who condemned the “defamatory remark” and voiced their opinion in his support.
“Time won't speak, but will wait and deliver a reply,” he concluded the statement.
Aadhav, while speaking at a protest organised by his party on Thursday, claimed that Rajinikanth giving up his decision to enter politics was because of the “threats” he faced from the “DMK family.” Striking a parallel with actor Vijay launching TVK, he said Vijay had strong mental resolve.
Rajinikanth’s remarks came a day after strong criticisms voiced by AIADMK general secretary Edappadi K Palaniswami and BJP State president Nainar Nagenthran against Aadhav, signalling an end to speculations that the TVK might join their alliance.
Besides Palaniswami and Nagenthran, the other leaders whom Rajinikanth thanked included Union Minister of State L Murugan, Tamil Nadu Minister S Regupathy, VCK president Thol Tirumavalavan, BJP leaders K Annamalai, Arjunamurthy, PMK president Dr Anbumani Ramadoss, and few members of from the cine industry and the media.
Timeline
Here is a timeline of how Rajinikanth nurtured his political ambition since the 1990s and how it ended in December 2020:
1995: Rajinikanth openly criticised the then AIADMK government led by J Jayalalithaa. His famous 1996 remark: "Even God cannot save Tamil Nadu if Jayalalithaa returns to power." Rajinikanth supported the DMK-TMC alliance in the 1996 Tamil Nadu Assembly elections.
After that, for nearly two decades, Rajinikanth kept giving indirect signals about his entry into politics.
Nearly a year after the death of former Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa, Rajinikanth, in December 2017, said "The system is rotten", and announced his entry into politics. Rajinikanth declared that his political ideology would be Aanmeega Arasiyal (Spiritual Politics).
Later, Rajinikanth converted his fan clubs into Rajini Makkal Mandram. On December 3, 2020, the actor declared that he would launch his political party in January 2021 and contest Assembly elections in all 234 constituencies.
On December 14, 2020, Rajinikanth announced that Arjunamurthy would play a key role in his political party.
On December 25, 2020, while shooting for Annaatthe movie in Hyderabad during the Covid-19 pandemic, Rajinikanth faced health issues due to fluctuations in blood pressure.
On December 29, 2020, Rajinikanth announced that he was not pursuing his decision to enter politics.
He has since remarked that it was his health condition that led to his decision to withdraw.