Speaking to reporters for the first time after the BJP's landslide win in the parliamentary elections, Superstar Rajinikanth said that this is a victory for a charismatic leader - Narendra Modi. He also said that he would be attending Modi's swearing-in on Thursday.He also urged Rahul Gandhi not to resign from the post of Congress President.
Speaking of the impact of leadership in politics he said, at the central level or state level, leaders are those who lead their respective parties to victory. "At the national level, after Jawaharlal Nehru, there was an Indira Gandhi, Rajiv Gandhi, Vajpayee and now Narendra Modi. At the state level in Tamil Nadu, we had a Kamarajar, Anna, Karunanidhi MG Ramachandran and Jayalalithaa", said the actor.
On the national mandate, he said, apart from Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, there has been a Modi wave that has swept across, nobody can swim against it. Those who went with the wave have won. On the dismal performance of the NDA in Tamil Nadu, he said that the issues such as NEET, hydrocarbon extraction project, Sterlite police firing and the strong campaign of the opposition parties have played a major role.
About his expectations from the new government, he said, definitely they should take Tamil Nadu seriously and work for the state and also link the rivers Cauvery, Godavari and Krishna. He also appreciated fellow actor and debutant politician Kamal Haasan for garnering around four percent vote share on debut.
On Congress President Rahul Gandhi's possible resignation that is being widely discussed Rajini said, I won't say he lacks leadership qualities, Congress is an age-old party with senior leaders. As a youngster it is difficult to manage senior leaders, who have not given cooperation.
Rajinikanth said, "Rahul should not resign, he should prove that he can do. In a democracy ruling party and opposition party are important, I expect the opposition party also to be strong",
