Rajinikanth, DMK minister spar over ‘senior students’ remark

Chennai: Tamil superstar Rajnikanth expressed agreement with the way Chief Minister M K Stalin handled the old guard of the DMK, whom he described as “senior students who refuse to leave the class after getting a pass mark” triggering a spat between him and Water Resources Minister Durai Murugan.

Rajinikanth, while releasing a book on DMK patriarch M Karunanidhi on Saturday, “saluted” Stalin for handling “old students” like Durai Murugan with his cabinet being dominated by seniors.

“For teachers, handling new students is always easy. But the challenge comes in handling old students. Here, all the old students are rank holders who refuse to leave their class after securing pass marks. There is a person called Durai Murugan, who was very tough even for Karunanidhi to handle. Stalin sir, hats off to you for (handling Durai Murugan),” Rajinikanth said.

The superstar’s comments were seen as a dig at the old guard of the DMK for not giving way to youngsters in the party. It also came at a time when several ministers were actively pushing for Udhayanidhi’s elevation as Stalin’s deputy in the government.

After Rajinikanth’s comments, a peeved Durai Murugan, the second-in-command of the DMK and its government, took a dig at the superstar, saying “some actors continue to dominate the tinsel town even after losing their teeth.”

Duraimurugan said “I can also say that old actors don’t let young actors take the limelight. They act even after growing old and losing teeth.”

As their comments stoked a row, Rajinikanth and Durai Murugan called a truce. On Monday, the actor said Durai Murugan was his “long-time friend” and that their relationship will continue. In return, the minister said: “We were joking, and we weren’t serious. We will remain friends.”