Chennai:
BJP leader Narendra Modi met Tamil superstar Rajinikanth at his Chennai residence and described it as a just a "courtesy call". Rajinikanth said there was no discussion on politics.
Rajinikath, in a brief interaction with the media when he came out of his residence to see off Modi, said Modi had called on him last year when he was unwell. Rajni said he had invited Modi to have a cup of tea with him.
"We merely enquired about each other's well-being", Rajni said. Modi said he wished to greet Rajni on the eve of Tamil New Year Day (April 14).
Rajni has been keeping away from politics ever since the 2004 disaster when he publicly declared his support for Atal Behari Vajpayee and urged the people to vote for the BJP in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections. He had also then asked the people to defeat the PMK candidates, and said in those constituencies alone, his fans could work in the elections using his name and the Rajni fans' association flag.
However, the BJP was trounced in the 2004 Lok Sabha elections, and the PMK candidates too won, defeating the AIADMK-BJP-Rajni combine. It was the Congress-led UPA that came to power.
Ever since Rajni has been avoiding statements on political issues. He had come out in praise of Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J Jayalalithaa in recent functions of the film industry, overcoming a bitter phase from 1994 when he was a fierce critic of the AIADMK leader and even issued an appeal
prior to the 1996 elections to vote her out. He had even called the Anna DMK as Amma DMK, and issued an appeal to voters to back the DMK-TMC (then led by G K Moopanar) alliance in Tamil Nadu.
