December 11, 2016
CHENNAI: Rajinikanth's denouncement of J Jayalalithaa and her politics during the 1996 Tamil Nadu assembly election campaign caused her distress and defeat, actor Rajinikanth said on Sunday.
Rajinikanth speaking at the condolence meet
December 11, 2016
CHENNAI: Rajinikanth's denouncement of J Jayalalithaa and her politics during the 1996 Tamil Nadu assembly election campaign caused her distress and defeat, actor Rajinikanth said on Sunday.
Rajinikanth speaking at the condolence meet
Speaking at a condolence meet for the late former Tamil Nadu chief minister+ organised by the Nadigar Sangam (South Indian Artists' Association), the veteran actor said his campaign speech ensured AIADMK's defeat in 1996. "She was distressed because of my words. I was one of the main reasons why she lost in 1996," he said.
The superstar had famously said back then, "If Jayalalithaa is voted back to power, even God cannot save Tamil Nadu."
Rajinikanth added that he was pleasantly surprised that Jayalalithaa participated in his daughter's wedding, despite the troubled relationship. "I sought an appointment to invite her for my daughter's wedding with a heavy heart. I thought she would not want to come. But I got an appointment," he said.
"She told me that she would come for the wedding even if there was another marriage ceremony of a party functionary. This lady with a golden heart is no more among us," Rajinikanth said.
The Kabali actor said Jayalalithaa was one of the few who turned trials into triumph. "She was like a diamond. Despite the pressure from a patriarchal society, she shone like one (diamond) and now she rests, like a Kohinoor diamond, besides Puratchi Thalaivar MGR's memorial," he said.
Courtesy: TOI
