Hitting out at Rajinikanth yet again, BJP leader Subramanian Swamy has criticised the superstar of Tamil cinema for allegedly visiting a casino in the US.
For the past couple of days, a purported image of Rajinikanth seen inside what is being claimed as a US casino has been doing the rounds, and the message attached to the image says, “His daughter today got divorce and Tamil cinema is suffering from GST, but this guy playing Casino at America (sic)”.
There has been no independent verification of the image.
Swamy seems to have latched on to this image and message, and said that the ED should investigate the source of his money, referring to the star as ‘RK 420’.
According to sources in the family, the movie star is in the US for a regular health check-up, and is not suffering from any immediate illness. In fact, there is also another selfie video of the star on a car ride which has been doing the rounds.
This is not the first time Swamy has attacked Rajini, despite the fact that Swamy’s own party, the BJP, has been encouraging Rajini’s entry into politics. Political circles have also been abuzz that the BJP could be backing his political career.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Swamy had said, “Rajinikanth doesn’t know politics.”
Do you still want actors in politics? Are you not tired already? Now we should only have politicians in politics.Subramanian Swamy
When asked how he would react if Rajini did decide to enter politics, Swamy said, “Why should he come to politics? His talent is in films. He doesn’t know politics.”
Later, in an interview to Rahul Kanwal of India Today, Swamy claimed that he held proof on the actor's alleged financial irregularities, and that could knock down his political ambitions. He added the image that Rajini currently maintained will not survive this revelation.
There are financial irregularities and if it comes to light it will be hard for him to continue in politics. His image will collapse, whatever has been media hyped. He should not come to politics.Subramanian Swamy
Rumours that Rajini would take the political plunge surfaced in March, when it emerged that the actor was scheduled to meet members of his fan club. Many reports had interpreted the actor’s meeting as the occasion for announcing his entry into politics.
(This story was first published in The News Minute and has been republished with permission.)
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