Venkaiah Naidu says he advised Rajinikanth not to enter politics

Former Vice-President says he telephoned Rajinikanth despite the possibility of his being misunderstood

Former Vice-President Venkaiah Naidu on Saturday said that he advised Rajinikanth not to enter politics as he felt it would not be good for the actor.

Speaking at the silver jubilee celebration of Sapiens Health Foundation (SPF) here, Mr. Naidu said he reached out to the actor when he heard through a friend about the actor’s intent to enter politics. He said he informed the friend that there were better ways to serve the people.

Later, he telephoned Mr. Rajinikanth despite the possibility of being misunderstood, to convey his views. He said he advised with all his experience since he admired the actor. Mr. Rajinikanth belonged to a rare class of extraordinary actors endowed with qualities such as humility and simplicity, and who had matchless social commitment, he said.

“Politics is not healthy. If you want to be healthy, you should not join politics,” Mr. Naidu said. He, however, said that he was not discouraging people from joining politics. More and more youngsters should join politics, he said, adding that they should do so only if they were disciplined, honest, dedicated and committed to ideology.

Releasing a set of campaign posters to create awareness on reducing salt intake, Mr. Naidu stressed the need for preventive measures to lead a healthy life. He lauded the service of Rajan Ravichandran, chairman, SPF, for his focus on public health and helping the poor.

Mr. Rajinikanth recalled his long friendship with Dr. Ravichandran, right from 2010 when he initially faced kidney related problems. He said it was the doctor who strongly advised him on the precautions that needed to be taken with respect to COVID-19, if he were to enter politics when the pandemic was raging.

He said when he expressed concern that people may accuse him of backtracking on his promise, the doctor said he was willing to address the media himself to explain the actor’s health condition. Mr. Rajinikanth said eventually it was those health related concerns that led him to decide against entering politics.