Haasan lashes out at casting couch culture, says none should favour it

Chennai: Makkal Needhi Maiam chief Kamal Haasan today lashed out at the "casting couch culture," which choreographer Saroj Khan defended, saying no woman should favour it and diminish the rights of women including his daugther in the film industry.

"It is the right of a woman to refuse to sit, lie down or kick away that couch, and no woman shall talk in favour of it and reduce (diminish) the rights of my sister and daughter who is also in the industry," he said.

His remark came when his reaction was sought to Saroj Khan defending the casting couch culture.

Haasan's daughter Shruthi Haasan is a popular actress.

"Woman has the right to say no to couch. Let them establish that. Let it (casting couch culture) not be justified. If someone talks supporting it, I will assume that they are talking against my sisters," he told reporters here.

When Haasan's attention was drawn to Congress leader Renuka Chowdhury's remark that casting couch was the "bitter truth" of not just the film industry but all work spaces and even Parliament was not immune to it, he said it was yet another corruption in politics. "We want to do away with it," the actor said.

Asked if his party would contest local body polls whenever it was announced, he said "absolutely that is what we are aiming at."

Earlier, Haasan led a "model gram sabha," meeting on behalf of his party here to underscore the importance of local self-goverance as an effective tool to do away with corruption and foster development.

Through the mock meet, the participants from villages were apprised of the subjects that should be discussed in the gram sabha meetings to facilitate graft free growth.

Stating that funds for gram sabhas for about 12,524 villages of Tamil Nadu were not a constraint in view of the Panchayati Raj system, Haasan said the question was if such funds were being utilised properly.

This year marks the completion of 25th anniversary of the 73rd and 74th amendments to the Constitution adopted in December 1992 which paved the way for the Panchayati Raj.

Haasan recalled that this day in 1993, the 73rd Amendment Act came into force paving the way for village panchayats.

If steps had been taken for effective implementation of components of the Panchayati Raj including the gram sabhas, "the face of Tamil Nadu would have changed," he said.

"Graft can be ended through mitigation, prevention and later eradication," Haasan said.

"However, the Panchayati Raj system, which is our strenghth and by itself a solution, has not functioned well due to political selfishnees and in consideration of political mileage," he said.

People too had not monitored it well, he said. It was now the duty of all sections to ensure that it was implemented properly for the welfare of the people.

If gram sabha meetings were not held as per schedule on May 1, he said it should be brought to the notice of his party so that it could be taken up with authorities.