'Salaam No 2 For PM Modi If He Apologises For Notes Ban': Kamal Haasan

Chennai: Actor Kamal Haasan, who has announced his plans to enter politics, today apologised for hastily supporting Prime Minister Narendra Modi's shock decision to ban high-denomination notes a year ago. Mr Haasan, who is 62 , said "If the PM accepts his mistake, my salaam (salute) awaits him."

His comments were made in a column for a Tamil magazine; they included "accepting mistakes and rectifying them is a sign of statesmanship."

In November, when 500 and 1,000-rupee notes were banned, Mr Haasan had tweeted "Salute Mr. Modi. This move has to be celebrated across political party lines. Most importantly by earnest tax payers."
 Two months ago, he announced that he will join politics by launching his own party, one that he says will be dedicated to ending "the corruption in a democratic system". In a series of comments, he has made it clear that he will take on the BJP. "Saffron is not my colour," he said recently.

Over a lunch meeting with Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in Chennai last month, Mr Haasan said he sought advice on how to create a political start-up. He said he admires many traits of Mr Kejriwal's five-year-old Aam Aadmi Party, but will have no affiliation with it.

Mr Haasan's political future is being mapped carefully alongside that of Tamil mega-star Rajinikanth, who has been nurturing political ambition for over two decades, but has not revealed more information.  

The Reserve Bank of India has confirmed that of the banned currency, virtually all has been deposited in banks, contradicting the government's prediction that the reform would lead to black money being destroyed. It has since said that the notes ban is a big step forward in the fight against corruption, and that it is expanding the base of tax payers.