Samikhsya Bureau
Only Tamil superstar Rajinikanth can do it — complimenting both Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress president Rahul Gandhi in the same vein.
On Tuesday Rajinikanth described Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who was elected for a second term, as a charismatic leader. On the other hand, he also advised Rahul Gandhi, who was intending to put in his papers as Congress chief following its debacle in the polls, not to resign because he has shown leadership qualities.
Talking to reporters outside his Poes Garden residence in Chennai, Rajinikanth said the BJP’s sweeping victory in the recent Lok Sabha polls was a victory for Modi. “He is a charismatic and popular leader after Nehru, Indira Gandhi, Rajiv (Gandhi) and A.B. Vajpayee,” he said.
On BJP’s loss in Tamil Nadu, Rajinikanth, who is supposed to attend Modi’s swearing in ceremony on May 30 in New Delhi, said there was an anti-Modi wave in the state due to issues like Sterlite plant in Tuticorin, methane extraction project in Cauvery delta. The BJP, which aligned with AIADMK, drew a blank in Tamil Nadu, while DMK led by M.K. Stalin swept the polls.
However, the megastar thinks that Rahul Gandhi need not step down from the post of Congress president. “In a democracy the opposition should also be strong,” he said.
Rajinikanth said he did not think Gandhi lacked leadership qualities, but it was just difficult to manage the Congress party where there were so many senior leaders, who did not fully cooperate with him.
