An FIR has been registered against actor-politician Kamal Haasan for saying that Nathuram Godse was the first Hindu terrorist of independent India. He was campaigning for the Makkal Needhi Maiam candidate contesting the by-elections from Aravakurichi constituency on May 19, when he made the comment. He has been facing condemnation from the BJP, AIADMK, AMMK and many others since Monday.
A case was registered by the Aravakurichi police yesterday under Sections 153A and 295A of the IPC which deal with deliberate intention to outrage religious feeling, and promotion of enmity between religious groups. Hindu Munnani’s Karur district secretary KV Ramakrishnan filed the complaint saying that Hindus in Palapatti, where Kamal was campaigning, were targeted in his speech. “It is a Muslim dominated area and Kamal made the comment to gain votes. It hurt our religious sentiments, and also targeted all Hindus in the country. I request immediate action against this,” the complaint read.
The Karur district police also released a statement warning strict action against those inciting violence in the name of religion, caste, language and race.
Meanwhile, in Delhi, two separate cases have been filed against the actor. BJP leader Ashwini Upadhyay sought directions from the Election Commission citing breach of model code of conduct. She moved the Delhi High Court seeking a 5-day ban on Makkal Needhi Maiam’s campaigns, and the case will be heard today. Hindu Sena member Vishnu Gupta also moved the court on grounds of hurting Hindu religious sentiments. The case is likely to be listed on May 16.
Meanwhile, the security outside Kamal Haasan’s house in Alwarpet in Chennai has been beefed up. He has called off the election campaigns for his party members temporarily, and the party has released a statement demanding the resignation of Rajenthra Bhalaji, the AIADMK minister who asked for his tongue to be cut off. The statement says that Rajenthra violated his oath as a minister and that he lacked political and personal decency. Last evening, party vice president R Mahendran also put out a statement saying Kamal’s comment was taken out of context to promote enmity, and media should play the entire speech so he is understood in the right context.
#MakkalNeedhiMaiam@drmahendran_r pic.twitter.com/q2nsNvk0Lq
— Makkal Needhi Maiam | மக்கள் நீதி மய்யம் (@maiamofficial) May 14, 2019
Actor-politician Rajinikanth was asked about the issue, but he refused to comment. Actor Vivek Oberoi, whose biopic on Modi is releasing this month, has condemned Kamal Haasan saying he was only seeking votes with the comment. Actor and BJP member Gayatri Raghuram also tweeted about it.
