Kamal Haasan's comments on Kannada stir a row in K'taka
Film association to take a call on ban on actor
Bengaluru, May 28 (PTI): Pro-Kannada groups in Karnataka went up in arms against popular actor Kamal Haasan on Wednesday for his "Tamil gave birth to Kannada" remarks, with a police complaint filed against him, while a film association is set to discuss a possible ban on the veteran star ahead of his upcoming release "Thug Life," directed by ace filmmaker Mani Ratnam.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah said Kannada language has a very long history, and that the star is unaware of it.
Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce President M Narasimhalu said that he has called for a meeting with all stakeholders of Kannada film industry to discuss a possible ban on Haasan.
"We will meet tomorrow and will let the world know the outcome by afternoon," said Narasimhalu.
Haasan's comments that "Tamil gave birth to Kannada," at the audio launch of his upcoming film "Thug Life" in Chennai, has not gone down well with many in the southern state, with the state BJP chief BY Vijayendra accusing the actor of 'disrespecting' Kannada and seeking an unconditional apology from him.
CM Siddaramaiah said: "Kannada language has a very long history....he (Kamal Hassan) doesn't know."
The actor's comments have sparked outrage among several pro-Kannada outfits. These groups staged protests against him in various parts of the state like Belagavi, Mysuru Hubballi and Bengaluru, among others.
The activists claimed that Kannada has a history spanning thousands of years. As a demonstration of their anger, they burnt Kamal Hassan's posters at Belagavi and few other places, and raised slogans against him.
Condemning the actor-politician's statement, the agitators demanded that he apologise to the people of the state.
They have even threatened to obstruct screening of his film "Thug Life" in the state, if he fails to issue an apology.
Karnataka Rakshana Vedike, a pro-Kannada organisation, lodged a complaint with Bengaluru Police against Kamal Haasan for his remarks.
The outfit-led by Praveen Shetty lodged a complaint at R T Nagar police station here demanding legal action against the actor.
In the complaint, the outfit alleged that the "controversial statement" made by the actor has not only hurt the sentiments of Kannadigas, but it has also sown seeds of poison between Kannadigas and Tamils and has insulted the former.
"Every time a new Tamil movie is released, they have been constantly hurting the self-respect of Kannadigas. Such statements have been made continuously and have further disrupted peace and order between Kannadigas and Tamils," the complaint further alleged.
"We have received a complaint. But no FIR has been registered yet. We are seeking a legal opinion and accordingly, we will take further action in the matter," a senior police officer said.
Meanwhile, the KFCC will discuss on Thursday, a possible ban on the veteran star.
Several pro-Kannada outfits have approached the KFCC, demanding a ban on the actor.
Former President of KFCC and the Vice President of Film Federation of India, N M Suresh said the actor must apologise to Kannadigas.
"He cannot say things like that, he must say sorry to us," said Suresh.
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Trouble ‘Miyas’ everywhere only then they will leave Assam: Himanta Biswa Sarma
Says “Himanta Biswa Sarma, BJP are openly against them, we are saying it openly
New Delhi: Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said that four to five lakh “Miya voters” would be removed from the electoral rolls in the state once the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter lists is carried out. He also made a series of controversial remarks openly targeting the Miya community, a term commonly used in Assam in a derogatory sense to refer to Bengali-speaking Muslims.
Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of an official programme in Digboi in Tinsukia district, Sarma said it was his responsibility to create difficulties for the Miya community and claimed that both he and the BJP were “directly against Miyas”.
“Four to five lakh Miya votes will have to be deleted in Assam when the SIR happens,” Sarma said, adding that such voters “should ideally not be allowed to vote in Assam, but in Bangladesh”. He asserted that the government was ensuring that they would not be able to vote in the state.
The chief minister was responding to questions about notices issued to thousands of Bengali-speaking Muslims during the claims and objections phase of the ongoing Special Revision (SR) of electoral rolls in Assam. While the Election Commission is conducting SIR exercises in 12 states and Union Territories, Assam is currently undergoing an SR, which is usually meant for routine updates.
Calling the current SR “preliminary”, Sarma said that a full-fledged SIR in Assam would lead to large-scale deletion of Miya voters. He said he was unconcerned about criticism from opposition parties over the issue.
“Let the Congress abuse me as much as they want. My job is to make the Miya people suffer,” Sarma said. He claimed that complaints filed against members of the community were done on his instructions and that he had encouraged BJP workers to keep filing complaints.
“I have told people wherever possible they should fill Form 7 so that they have to run around a little and are troubled,” he said, adding that such actions were meant to send a message that “the Assamese people are still living”.
In remarks that drew further outrage, Sarma urged people to trouble members of the Miya community in everyday life, claiming that “only if they face troubles will they leave Assam”. He also accused the media of sympathising with the community and warned journalists against such coverage.
“So you all should also trouble, and you should not do news that sympathise with them. There will be love jihad in your own house.” He said.
The comments triggered reactions from opposition leaders. Raijor Dal president and MLA Akhil Gogoi said the people of Assam had not elected Sarma to keep one community under constant pressure. Congress leader Aman Wadud accused the chief minister of rendering the Constitution meaningless in the state, saying his remarks showed a complete disregard for constitutional values.
According to the draft electoral rolls published on December 27, Assam currently has 2.51 crore voters. Election officials said 4.78 lakh names were marked as deceased, 5.23 lakh as having shifted, and 53,619 duplicate entries were removed during the revision process. Authorities also claimed that verification had been completed for over 61 lakh households.
On January 25, six opposition parties the Congress, Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(M) and CPI(M-L) submitted a memorandum to the state’s chief electoral officer. They alleged widespread legal violations, political interference and selective targeting of genuine voters during the SR exercise, describing it as arbitrary, unlawful and unconstitutional.
