Now, I have dedicated my life for people of TN: Kamal

MADURAI: Kamal Haasan launched his political party – Makkal Needhi Maiam – on Wednesday with the promise to root out corruption and the ambition to emerge as a southern satrap.Kamal started his day at former president A P J Abdul Kalam’s house in Rameswaram and moved to Madurai, addressing wayside meetings. At a public meeting in Madurai, he promised “an honest war” against corruption, education for all, employment to educated youth, and a caste-free society.Kamal kept his gaze beyond the boundaries of the six southern states—something he said the six hands in his party emblem signify-—but played primarily to Tamil Nadu galleries. “How long should people of this state wait with unfulfilled dreams? Time has come to fulfill their aspirations,” he said to applause from some 20,000 people who had assembled at the Otthakadai grounds.Sharing the dais was Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal , who drew parallels between Delhi and Tamil Nadu. “If AAP, which was formed as a small party in 2012, could displace the BJP and the Congress in a short time, Kamal Haasan’s party can defeat the DMK and the AIADMK , both of which are corrupt,” Kejriwal said.“If you want corruption, you vote for these two parties — AIADMK and DMK. If you want good education, healthcare, roads and electricity, you vote for Kamal Haasan. He is my real-life hero,” Kejriwal said.Kamal wanted people to stop taking money from parties seeking vote. “By taking ?6,000 per vote, you have lost an opportunity to make ?6 lakh through development. Every shortage is due to greed and we are partly to blame for the situation,” he said.He spoke about “a new south India”, highlighting advices from AP CM N Chandrababu Naidu and Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan, besides hailing Kejriwal.Kamal said, “I was thinking of getting into election mode, step by step. But Kejriwal has set the tone for that today itself. This is not a one-day celebration … A new phase has begun.”The actor said he is neither left nor right, but the centre, as the needle of the balance of justice (needhi, which is part of the party’s name) indicates. “If you keep cutting a growing tree, every tree will be a bonsai. This party will last for at least another threefour generations, with the baton being passed on to the next runner. There will no longer be “permanent chief minister” (a title AIADMK cadres had given Jayalalithaa),” he added.Blaming different segments of people for the continued tussle for Cauvery water, Kamal said such people thrived by instigating people against each other. “Every issue can be resolved through meaningful dialogue,” he said.He said he had a guilt feeling of not having done anything to the people of Tamil Nadu.“From now on, I have dedicated my life for the people of the state. That’s why the urgency and let us join hands to weed out corruption. A single tree cannot become a grove,” he said.