Rajinikanth addressed the crowd at Dr MGR Educational and Research Institute after unveiling the statue of former CM MG Ramachandran. He said that people have asked him why he is joining politics now and if he was afraid to do it when J Jayalalithaa was the CM. Rajinikanth said, "I do not have to talk about the 1996 issue again and again. I raised my voice against her, back when she was alive, so why do I need to fear?"