Abdul Kalam's former aide joins Kamal Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam

V Ponraj, who was Scientific Advisor and Officer on Special Duty (OSD) to A P J Abdul Kalam when he was President and after he demitted office respectively, on Wednesday joined the Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) led by actor Kamal Haasan.

Ponraj, who was closely associated with Kalam and played a key role in preparing a report to allay apprehensions over the Kudankulam Nuclear Power Plant in Tamil Nadu following wide-spread protests, launched Abdul Kalam Vision India Party in 2016, a year after the death of the former President.

“I am happy to join Kamal Haasan today and I feel he is the right person to fulfill ideas propagated by Dr Abdul Kalam,” Ponraj said after joining the party. After inducting him into the party, Kamal Haasan appointed Ponraj as Vice-President of MNM.

Ponraj was also associated with actor Rajinikanth who shelved his plans to take the political plunge citing health reasons. The day also saw MNM releasing a seven-point agenda for women welfare including 50 per cent women representation for every uniformed sector in state services.

The document said MNM, if elected to power, will establish hostels in all districts for free emergency overnight stay for women in distress and establish a follow-up system on complaints registered with 181 women’s helpline.

Read | Kamal Haasan to be Makkal Needhi Maiam's 'permanent' president, resolves party

“Government to procure and distribute sanitary napkins via PDS for poor, urban and rural adolescent girls and women, women bank, education, skill building, employment, and socio-economic support to be given to all single mothers and government to organise reproductive health check-up once in every six months,” the document said.

Meanwhile, Kamal Haasan launched his election campaign from Alandur, formerly known as Parangimalai from where the late matinee idol M G Ramachandran got elected to the Tamil Nadu Assembly for the first time in 1967. The move comes as Kamal Haasan seeks to claim the legacy of MGR.