Makkal Needhi Maiam founder and actor Kamal Haasan receiving the certificate for a tree planted in his name at the ‘Kamal Haasan-unplugged’ event organised by Young Indians Coimbatore Chapter at the Sri Krishna Institutions in Coimbatore on Wednesday. S. Malarvizhi (right), Vice-Chairperson, Indian Women Network, Tamil Nadu Chapter, K. Adithya (second left), Trustee, Sri Krishna Institutions, and Annush Ramasamy (second right), Vice-Chairman, Young Indians, are in the picture. | Photo Credit: M_Periasamy more-in Makkal Needhi Maiam founder and actor Kamal Haasan has alleged that the ruling party was scared of his interactions with students and youth and has asked institutions to not entertain him. “There is an unspoken G.O. banning me from colleges. I am not allowed to meet students because yours [students] and my efforts to make a new Tamil Nadu is scaring them. That is why the unspoken G.O.,” he said addressing students at ‘Kamal Haasan-unplugged’, a programme organised on Wednesday by the Coimbatore Chapter of Young Indians at Sri Krishna Institutions in association with Indian Women Network Coimbatore Zone, and Confederation of Indian Industry. “They are scared because they are in the government for business, not governance. But we will break the paper arrows [the unspoken G.O.] and I will continue to talk to you [students]. If they do not permit us to meet in institutions or buildings, let us meet and I will reach out to you breaking all barriers,” he also said. Encouraging students to discuss politics on campuses, he said unless they discussed how would they understand the issues that impacted their life and what was happening in the State. He regretted not joining politics when he was asked to do so at the age of 22, but chose to join when the powers that be confiscated his properties during the release of his movie Vishwaroopam. He entered politics because he realised that the State was not where it should be and it had lost out on 20 years of development. To a question on tackling unemployment, Mr. Haasan said the growth of small and micro enterprises was the solution and the students should turn entrepreneurs. He said agriculture and education were the two important sectors that would propel the country’s development. Though industrial development was also needed, it should not be at the cost of agriculture – if it were to be between extracting hydrocarbon or mining diamonds and agriculture, the latter should take precedence because at the time of drought, food was what mattered. He was also for making education accessible to all, irrespective of caste or economic strength. On the entry of youth in to politics and what his party was doing to facilitate it, Mr. Haasan said he had asked all youth in his party to first participate in ‘gram sabha’ meetings. If they were to do so, the wave would soon spread to all parts of the country. Earlier, Dipender Singh Chandok, Chair, Young Indians, Coimbatore, welcomed the gathering. S. Malarvizhi, Vice-Chairperson, Indian Women Network, Tamil Nadu Chapter, Praveen Parameshwar, CEO, Lifology.com, Annush Ramasamy, Vice-Chairman, Young Indians, C.K. Kumaravel, Co-founder, Naturals, and S. Ragulan, Chair, Yuva, were present. During a brief halt in Pollachi, Mr. Haasan said the police had refused permission for his party’s public meeting. “They had given permission for only a 10-minute reaction but let them realise that for a revolution to start, three minutes was enough”, he said.

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