Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) party General Secretary A Arunachalam on Friday, 17 May, sent a petition to the Election Commission asking to cancel the Sulur by-elections, bringing it to the notice of the poll body that the party President, Kamal Haasan, was denied permission to campaign in Sulur for the constituency candidate Mayilsami.
Haasan had reportedly been denied permission to campaign in Sulur Assembly constituency on the last day of campaigning. According to the petition, the application for permission for Haasan to campaign was made on 7 May, but no information was received about the same till 16 May, a day before the campaigning was scheduled. Permission for the same was cancelled, stating law and order issues, with the relevant authority adding that it had received many petitions asking for permission to be denied to the campaign, the MNM petition claimed.
Arunachalam sent the petition via email to the Chief Election Commissioner of India. He also met the Tamil Nadu Chief Electoral Officer, Satyabrataa Sahoo and handed over a copy of the same in person.
Slippers Thrown at Haasan
Slippers were thrown at Kamal Haasan while he was addressing a crowd on Thursday evening, during an election campaign in Tirupparankundram in Madurai. The incident happened just three days after Haasan stoked controversy with his remark about Godse.
Eleven people, including BJP workers and members of another outfit, Hanuman Sena, were named in the police complaint, reported NDTV. Supporters of the party caught hold of the man who hurled the slipper and beat him up before police could intervene. The slippers missed Haasan and instead fell on the crowd, police said.
He tweeted this after the public meeting:
Haasan spoke to reporters on Friday morning at the Chennai airport, “I have said the same thing before. It's not the first time but it's been blown out of proportion.”
I am not afraid of being arrested. Let them arrest me. If they do that it will only create more problem. It’s not my warning but only an advice.Kamal Haasan, Makkal Needhi Maiam President
While addressing an election campaign in Tamil Nadu’s Aravakurichi on Sunday night, Haasan had said that “India's first terrorist was a Hindu”, referring to Nathuram Godse who killed Mahatma Gandhi.
Don’t Mix Religion With Politics: Haasan
Haasan released a video, advising people not to cast their vote for a specific party (referring to the ruling AIADMK government) and choose welfare instead.
He talks about Kalippan in Ottapidaram, who was shot dead a day after the police firing took place in Thoothukudi. The counting of votes on 23 May, coincides with his first year death anniversary.
“But, those who instigated the violence, those who are the reason for this incident, are pretending as though no such incident happened and are shamelessly begging for votes in the very same constituency. In the upcoming by-elections, remove these selfish politicians and get ready for change.”Kamal Haasan in a tweet
He also appealed to people to not mix religion with business and politics.
“’Living together in harmony means crores of goodness,’ is a very popular Tamil proverb. Now listening to the word crore, if you think of money, it means you are not a leader, not a politician. You are just a sickness. Dear Tamizha, you need to be the leader, that's my request,” the tweet read.
Tamil Nadu Minister KT Rajendra Balaji had said Kamal Haasan's "tongue should be cut off". The MNM party demanded that he should be stripped of his post.
BJP had moved the Election Commission of India (EC) calling for a five-day campaigning ban on Haasan.
"The intention of Kamal Haasan is to create religious unrest in society and create communal tension in the Constituency and all over the state,” the BJP legal cell said in its complaint to state Chief Electoral Officer Satybarata Sahoo.
The Delhi High Court on Wednesday dismissed the PIL asking the poll body to take a decision.
Haasan had reiterated his stance on Wednesday while campaigning in Thiruparankundram Assembly constituency. He said, “In Aravakuruchi, I said independent India's first extremist was a Hindu. It is historical truth.” He added that all his family members were Hindus and he would not talk in any manner to hurt their feelings.
Haasan has applied for anticipatory bail in the Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court as a case has been registered against him for his Aravakuruchi speech.
(At The Quint, we are answerable only to our audience. Play an active role in shaping our journalism by becoming a member. Because the truth is worth it.)