Tamil cine legend Rajinikanth urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to form the Cauvery Management Board (CMB) “immediately” before heading to a protest venue where members of the Tamil film fraternity had gathered to observe a silent protest.

Addressing reporters outside his residence at Poes Garden in Chennai, Rajinikanth, who has announced his decision to join politics, said, “He (PM Modi) has to fasten the process of formation of the CMB. He has to do that immediately.”

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Unlike many other political parties, the 67-year-old Rajinikanth did not call for a boycott of the Indian Premier League (IPL) but said that the sporting event will come as an embarrassment while people are going thirsty.

He urged that Chennai Super Kings (CSK) players should sport black bands as a mark of support to the Tamil people’s cause.

Rajinikanth, who is seen as close to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), added that the Centre had not “betrayed” Tamil Nadu but is delaying the setting up of the Board, which it has to fasten.

In a response to pro-Kannada outfits who have said that they will not allow his films to be screened in the state, Rajinikanth said that it is the Karnataka government’s duties to look into law and order issues. He added that his agitation is “for the right cause”.

“It (the CMB) is a long time demand of the people of Tamil Nadu,” he said before heading for the protest venue.

At the venue, Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan, cinematic rivals, hugged each other briefly. The two were seen talking as they sat next to each other.

Read More: Kamal Haasan, Rajinikanth, Dhanush, Vijay, top Tamil cine stars join Cauvery protest

Tamil Film Producers Council (TFPC), South Indian Artistes’ Association (SIAA), Film Employees’ Federation of South India (FEFSI) and a distributors’ association are taking part in the protest.

The protests are not only over the CMB but also over the Sterlite Copper plant in Tuticorin, against which the locals have been staging protests citing health reasons.

Both Rajinikanth and Kamal Haasan have spoken against the expansion of the plant. Haasan, the chief of Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), had joined the locals on 1 April.