Actor Kamal Hassan on Wednesday said the Kerala model of development and welfare was his lodestar in politics.
Mr. Hassan, who dons several roles in life, appeared speaking at the Keraleeyam festival’s inaugural venue as the president of the Makkal Needhi Maiam, a political party he formed to fight for social justice in Tamil Nadu in 2021.
He said Kerala topped the chart in literacy, public health, social welfare, hygiene, and quality of life index. Kerala’s decentralised government was a model for the whole country. “As a politician and artiste, I have learned much from Kerala,” Mr. Hassan added.
He said cinema and stage had an outsize impact on Kerala’s development. The art forms helped inculcate a civic sense that paved the way for a socially responsive, secular, and democratic polity.
Mr. Hassan also lauded Kerala’s People’s Plan campaign that gave the public a say in development and planning. Its resilient public health system effectively retarded the COVID-19 pandemic and other virus outbreaks, including Nipah.
Kerala’s politics was immensely accessible and responsive to the people. He lauded Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan’s efforts to transform Kerala into a knowledge-based economy.
