Weed has weeded itself out: MNM chief Kamal Haasan on Mahendran’s resignation

Kamal Haasan‘s Makkal Needhi Maiam received a jolt on Thursday when its vice president R Mahendran resigned from the party, saying “there seemed to be no democracy”. The resignation drew a sharp rebuke from the actor-politician who dubbed him a ‘traitor.’

Lashing out at Mahendran, Haasan, whose party did not win a single seat in the recently-concluded assembly polls, said the former was about to be sacked from the party but expressed joy that “a weed” has weeded itself out from the MNM, reports PTI.

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Mahendran’s resignation came on a day when seven other MNM senior functionaries also tendered their resignation. The party in an official statement said that besides Mahendran, other seniors including AG Maurya, M Muruganandam, CK Kumaravel and Umadevi “gave their resignation letters.” Haasan will soon consider them, it said.

Mahendran, who unsuccessfully contested the April 6 Assembly polls from Singanallur constituency in Coimbatore, blamed a “few advisors” at “the top” over the running of the party and said Haasan’s way of steering the party “is not okay.”

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Mahendran said he “felt like there is no democracy.” “Many worked hard with the hope that this will change after polls. So I stayed with him (Haasan) but felt that in the last month or so there was no change in his approach.” He said he came armed with his resignation letter to the party’s Executive Committee meeting today, held in the backdrop of the party’s debacle in the assembly polls, and handed it over to Haasan, the agency reported.

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In an internal circular, Haasan accused Mahendran of trying to blame others for his “dishonesty and inefficiency” and gain sympathy. “He cleverly stepped away understanding that he would be sacked. I am happy like you that a weed has understood it is a weed and has weeded itself out,” he said, adding, the party will now see better days.

“We are never bothered about the cowards who run away during a defeat. There shall be no slightest deviation from our ideology-driven path,” the party founder added, the agency added.