In a setback for Kamal Haasan ahead of the Tamil Nadu assembly elections, Makkal Nidi Mayim (MNM) general secretary A Arunachalam joined the BJP on Friday in the presence of Union Minister Prakash Javadekar. Arunachalam, one of the founding members of MNM, said he took the decision after Haasan refused to support the Centre’s agricultural laws.
Arunachalam, one of the founding members of MNM, said it decided that Haasan refused to support Centre’s ranching laws.
Addressing the journalists, Arunachalam said that he feels blessed to join the saffron party on the birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
“Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah have prepared these three agricultural laws. Coming from a peasant family, I know their benefits. When I urged my leader and the party high command to support the Center’s decision, they refused, ”said Arunachalam.
“On several occasions, I told him not to treat the laws as an initiative of the BJP, but the Center had done something for the welfare of the farmers. I told them that they are a centrist party and if they do not support the decision of the government, there will not be much difference between them and the opposition. But, they continued to oppose the decision, ”he said.
Arunachalan said that she “does not exist in a party that works against the welfare of farmers”.