Cauvery row: Rajinikanth joins Tamil actors' protest, says IPL matches in Chennai embarrassing

Actor-turned-politician Rajinikanth along with his contemporary Kamal Haasan and other fellow Tamil stars on Sunday gathered in Chennai to protest against the delay in setting up Cauvery Management Board.

Joining the protest called by Tamil actors, Rajinikanth said that holding Indian Premier League (IPL) matches in Chennai at a time when the state was facing Cauvery water crisis was an “embarrassment”.

“It will be nice if IPL is not played this time in Chennai understanding the plight of the farmers due to severe shortage of water,” the superstar said.

Rajini also asked the players of IPL’s Chennai franchise and his followers to wear black bands when the team plays.

The apex court, in its February 16 verdict had increased Karnataka's water share and reduced Tamil Nadu's per year share to 177.25 TMC.

The top court had given six weeks time to the Centre to formulate a scheme to ensure compliance of its judgment, which modified the Cauvery Water Dispute Tribunal award.

Also Read | Cauvery Row: Tamil Nadu government acting subservient to Centre, says Kamal Haasan

While Kamal Haasan had been raising his voice against Centre for the delay in constituting the Cauvery Management Board, Rajinikanth spoke for the first time on the issue.

Earlier on Wednesday, Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan accused the Tamil Nadu government of acting like a “subservient government” to the Centre rather than upholding the state’s rights.

He said that the ruling AIADMK “cannot hallucinate that it has fulfilled its duty towards the people who elected them by just filing a contempt petition after the deadline or by holding a farcical one-day hunger strike.”

Apart from Rajini and Haasan, top Tamil actors, including Dhanush, Vishal, Surya and music composer Ilayaraja were also present during the protest.