'Thug life' film must be released in Karnataka, guns can't be put to people's head: SC
New Delhi (PTI): The Supreme Court on Tuesday came down heavily on the Karnataka government over actor Kamal Haasan's film "Thug Life" not being released in the state, saying mob and vigilantes cannot be allowed to take to the streets.
A bench of Justices Ujjal Bhuyan and Manmohan said rule of law has to be established and guns cannot be put to people’s head to stop them from watching the movie.
The top court gave one day time to the Karnataka government to apprise it about release of the movie in the state, saying once a film has got the Central Board of Film Certification clearance, it has to be released in all the state.
The bench said if Haasan has said anything inconvenient it cannot be taken as a gospel truth and the enlightened people of Karnataka should have debated and said he was wrong.
The top court was also critical of the high court’s recent observations seeking an apology over Haasan’s remark over Kannada language, and said it has not business to seek apology.
The bench transferred to the apex court, the case related to the movie pending before the high court and posted the matter for further hearing on Thursday.
"Thug Life" released in cinema halls across the country on June 5.
The Tamil movie, which reunites Haasan with filmmaker Mani Ratnam after 1987's "Nayakan", could not be released in Karnataka after the 70-year-old's comments about Kannada language sparked a major controversy.
The top court was hearing a plea filed by one M Mahesh Reddy challenging the non release of the movie in Karnataka.
The high court had strongly criticised Haasan for his remark suggesting that "Kannada was born out of Tamil", and observed that a "single apology could have resolved the situation."
The remark, reportedly made by Haasan at a promotional event in Chennai for his film, sparked a backlash in Karnataka, prompting the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce (KFCC) to announce that the film would not be screened in the state unless Haasan apologised.
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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.
