Not yet fascist, but they are getting there: Haasan on BJP, Modi

He says he felt this was not the moment to think about furthering his own political career and criticises the idea of ‘Hindu revivalism’

akkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) founder Kamal Haasan on Thursday said Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s government was “not yet fascist, but they are getting there” and reiterated the need “to ring the alarm bells”.

During an interaction with the board members and senior journalists of The Hindu in Chennai, Mr. Haasan said the path that the BJP government is on currently was not new and “it is the same script”.

“I am saying they are not yet fascist, but they are going in that direction. Calling them fascist is a bit early, but it is important to ring the alarm bells. They could change, but I don’t see any signs of them changing. We have seen this pattern before. They are not inventing anything. It is the same script,” the actorpolitician said.

While the MNM has been given a Rajya Sabha seat next year as part of an agreement with the DMK, Mr. Haasan said he felt this was not the moment to think about furthering his own political career.

“I could have selfishly moved forward for the progress of my party and

Mfurther my own political career but this is not the moment. I am an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi. After the Independence, he said that Congress can be dissolved as its purpose has been served. And I am also of that mindset. It was formed for a reason, and it can be dissolved if the reason is achieved. Looking at the number of MLAs or MPs in my party is not important,” he said.

Mr. Haasan said the Lok Sabha elections were “crucial” as they could decide what political “tint” the politics in the nation is going to adopt in future.

“I could have easily demanded three or four seats but strengthening this alliance seemed to be more important for us. They even insisted that I take part in the election to prove my point but I said it could be used by somebody else and let the alliance become stronger. There were offers from other parties also. The purpose was very clear: for me, Tamil Nadu seems to be the last bastion [for the BJP], in my view,” he said.

He was critical of the notion of “Hindu revivalism” in India that has been put forward by the Hindu rightwing organisations as a ruse to distract people from real livelihood issues.

Calling them fascist is a bit early, but it is vital to ring the alarm bells. They could change, but I don’t see any signs. We have seen this pattern before

‘Caesar’s trick’

“It is an old Caesar’s trick of distracting them: Circus Maximus, religion and dole. Rome has done it, many successive governments have done it. Circus maximum has been split into various other forms of entertainment... Cricket, cinema... today now,” he said. Mr. Haasan also explained why he chose to support the DMK after criticising them so harshly in the past. “Right now, the important battle ahead of us is for the whole nation. Instead of thinking that it was MNM that came up with the idea of monthly stipend for housewives, DMK implemented it. Instead of thinking MGR and Kamaraj implemented free noon meal scheme, they added onto it. I thought this is a good enough reason for now to appease my conscience and I have supported them,” he said.

As a Narpani Iyakkam (welfare movement of his fans), we copied Rotary Club, Lions Club or whatever we could...we didn’t reinvent the wheel. But then, slowly over 3540 years, we found that the buck stopped at the political table, always. We couldn’t move any further. Any good we wanted to do had to be done through laws. Slowly over time, I thought this (politics) is the best way to go

This is precisely the moment where I will have to justify the name of my party. Great equipoise and equilibrium is required now. We have to think about the people. That’s very important. 2024 election is very important because it will drift away from a certain vision we had decided for the coun