![Actor-turned-politician Rajnikanth rajinikanth](https://data1.ibtimes.co.in/en/full/685082/rajinikanth.jpg?h=450&l=50&t=40)
Bharathiraja has once again targeted Rajinikanth by calling him the "messenger of Karnataka" after the superstar recently slammed the violent protest to stop the matches of the Indian Premier League which were supposed to be held in Chennai.
In his press release, Bharathiraja slammed Rajinikanth for his statement on "peaceful" protestors and questioned why he had not spoken about the issues pertaining to Tamils on earlier occasions.
"While the people of Tamil Nadu protested in a peaceful manner, you portrayed them as the people indulged in violence. You never once spoke on Sri Lankan Tamil issue, neutrino project, or even when the Cauvery issue was at its peak. Why have you spoken now? It makes clear that you are the messenger of Karnataka." he said in his two-page statement.
Bharathiraja said he regrets the attack on policemen. He said vested interests resorted to violence for diverting the attention from the core issue. The 75-year old advised Rajinikanth to speak carefully as the people would ignore him and teach him a lesson in the days to come.
Recently, Tamil superstar Rajinikanth condemned the attack on a cop by a supporter of Seeman's political party Naam Tamilar Katchi. The actor called for "stringent laws" to punish the miscreants.
"The worst form of violence in law and order situation is to attack uniformed personnel on duty.This form of violence has to be tackled immediately as it poses a grave danger to our country. We need more stringent laws to punish the perpetrators of the attack on police personnel on duty," Rajinikanth wrote on Twitter.
The incident occurred when various Tamil groups and political parties protested against hosting IPL matches in Chennai amid the tense situation in Tamil Nadu over Cauvery river-sharing.
Bharathiraja accused Rajinikanth of creating "noise" about joining politics only during the release of his movies and questioned his contribution to the state from the money that he earned from Tamils.