Superstar Rajinikanth, who has stated his intention of entering the political arena, said on Tuesday that it is the responsibility of the Tamil Nadu government to provide security to the Ram Rajya Rath Yatra.

The 67-year-old film legend was addressing mediapersons outside his Poes Garden residence on Tuesday after returning from a 15-day spiritual tour in Uttarakhand.

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Rajinikanth said that Tamil Nadu is a secular state. He also said that the government led by Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami should also provide security to the yatra, which was flagged off from Ayodhya in February.

But actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan was critical of the manner in which the AIADMK government in the state was handling the yatra. He also slammed the procession as having a “divisive political agenda”.

“Voices for social harmony being throttled with (Section) 144 and arrests,” the chief of Makkal Needhi Maiam wrote on Twitter referring to the imposition of detaining of DMK leaders including MK Stalin who protested against the yatra by blocking a road today.

Without naming any saffron party or group, Haasan took a dig at the state government for dancing to someone else’s tune.

“Procession with divisive political agenda allowed with protection. The Tamil Nadu government, dancing to someone else’s tune, is neither reflecting people’s opinion nor being empathetic to students writing their board exams,” his tweet read.

Voices for social harmony being throttled with 144 &arrests. Procession with divisive political agenda allowed with protection. The TN government, dancing to someone else’s tune, is neither reflecting people’s opinion nor being empathetic to students writing their board exams.

— Kamal Haasan (@ikamalhaasan) March 20, 2018

Both Haasan and Rajinikanth have announced their political intent. But while Haasan has already launched his party and embarked on a state-wide tour, Rajinikanth has not yet formally announced his political plunge.

Haasan had long back declared that his “ideology is not saffron”. Speculations are rife that Rajinikanth might move in the other direction. However, on Tuesday, Rajinikanth said that he would follow the philosophy of spiritual politics and that only God and people were behind him, not the BJP.

According to reports, 1,500 police personnel have been deployed by the state government for security of the yatra which entered Tamil Nadu’s Tirunelveli from Kerala.