Chennai, Apr 9: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in its manifesto 'Sankalp Patra' which was released yesterday has emphasized on harnessing water resources and makes mention of the ambitious river-linking project. "I have been advocating the project of interlinking of rivers since the time AB Vajpayee was the PM, he had accepted my idea. BJP in their 2019 manifesto has promised to undertake the project. People will be happier if this is done," Tamil movies superstar Rajnikanth told the media.

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When questioned about his political stance, Rajini said that it was as mentioned earlier and it remains unchanged. In February 2019, Rajinikanth had mentioned that he or his party would not be contesting the Lok Sabha polls and that their party's aim would be the Tamil Nadu Assembly Polls that are slated for 2021. 

On the mention of river interlinking in BJP's manifesto, the actor further reportedly said, "This is mentioned in the manifesto. Once if they come to power this should be the first thing they should take up and this will help the people more." Rajini recollected that he had been a long-time supporter of the project to link India's rivers. 

Rajini also added that if that (river-linking) alone is done, half the poverty in the country can be eradicated, crores of people can be employed, farmers' lives and the condition can be improved. "Hence, I request them to implement it." The BJP has promised constitution of a separate authority for linking of rivers in its manifesto. During the summer, while Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Telangana face acute water shortage, many north Indian rivers overflow and cause floods. The interlinking of rivers is aimed at solving both these problems. 

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