'TN BJP protest against Mekedatu dam a double act'

South Indian megastar and Makkal Needhi Maiam President Kamal Haasan on Tuesday said that the Tamil Nadu BJP's opposing the construction of Mekedatu dam over the Cauvery by Karnataka is "a double act".

Interacting with reporters in Coimbatore, he said: "As an actor who has played double roles in more than 25 films, I can easily spot someone who is playing a double action role and this is one such act." He alleged that the Tamil Nadu and Karnataka units of the BJP are puppets in the hands of the party's Central leaders. Likening the BJP to East India Company, he said that the suggestion for Kongu Nadu has not come from the people of the area but from the "North Indian Company" (BJP) which wants to privatise its resources. He said that the demand for Kongu Nadu is not a political slogan. He also hit out at the Central government on the Pegasus snooping issue and said that the huge protests taking place in the Parliament during the monsoon session is a reflection of the people's ire on the issue. Kamal said that the government has no business in snooping into people's lives and said that there should not be any surveillance in the country. He said that it would be better not to demolish the memorial of the architect of Mullaperiyar dam, John Pennycuick, for the Kalaignar Karunanidhi memorial library coming up in Madurai.