Tamil superstar-turned-politician Kamal Haasan on Sunday lambasted Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the Centre’s new Parliament project at a time “when half of India is hungry” and reeling under a backbreaking pandemic. Incidentally, Haasan, who heads the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), is set to kick off his poll campaign for the Tamil Nadu assembly elections 2021 on Sunday.

In a tweet, Haasan came down heavily on PM Modi, saying, “Why a 1,000-crore new Parliament when half of India is hungry, losing livelihood due to coronavirus. When thousands died as the Great Wall of China was being built, the emperors said it was to protect people. To protect whom are you building the Rs 1,000-crore Parliament? Please answer my honourable elected PM.

The veteran actor will embark on his first phase of the poll campaign between Sunday and December 16. He is scheduled to cover Madurai, Theni, Dindigul, Virudhunagar, Tirunelveli, Tuticorin and Kanniyakumari districts.

PM Modi laid the foundation stone for the new Parliament building on December 10. However, the construction of the building has been shelved for now after the Supreme Court rapped the Union government for "moving forward aggressively" on the project even before a decision on petitions challenging it.

“The top court never thought the Centre will go ahead aggressively with construction due to pandemic. We though we are dealing with a prudent litigant and deference will be shown,” the court had observed.

The new building will have an area of 64,500 square metres and is being built at an estimated cost of Rs 971 crore. Besides, it will be earthquake resistant and 2,000 people will be directly involved in the construction of the new building and 9,000 indirectly.

Haasan, who began his party advancing a centrist, clean and corruption-free politics, had said that he would enter the electoral fray in the forthcoming assembly polls in Tamil Nadu as MNM's chief ministerial candidate. His party would seek the support of actor Rajinikanth, Haasan had told reporters earlier.

He had garnered an about 3.7% vote share in the Lok Sabha elections of 2019.