Having only more Gram Sabha meetings won't help: Kamal Haasan

Chennai, April 24

South Indian cinema superstar-tured-politician Kamal Haasan on Sunday said that merely increasing the number of gram sabha meetings will not help if the resolutions passed in these were not executed.

Addressing party cadres and media on the National Panchayat Raj Day, the Makkal Needhi Maiam President said that the gram sabhas are very important for a healthy democracy.

Noting that the Tamil Nadu government has increased the number of gram sabha meetings to six times a year and and that hiking the sitting fee of elected ward members five times "was a great move", he, however, said that a smaller state like Kerala was already paying out a much higher sitting fee than what was announced now by the Tamil Nadu government.

The veteran actor said that paying a higher sitting fee would make the elected ward members more accountable and duty-bound.

He said that the minutes of the gram sabha meetings must be uploaded online for the common man to see and expressed concerns over streamlined execution and transparency in the affairs of the gram sabha.

Stressing that the role of the opposition was not for criticising whatever the ruling party says or does and instead, it should support what was good for the public, Kamal Haasan also said that the opposition must also harshly criticise the ruling front if they were doing something manipulative against the interests of the society and the people of the state.