Tamannaah Bhatia faces backlash over ₹6.2 crore Mysore Sandal Soap endorsement deal
Bengaluru: Actress Tamannaah Bhatia has been announced as the new brand ambassador for the iconic Mysore Sandal Soap, having signed a deal worth ₹6.2 crore with the Karnataka government. However, the move has sparked sharp criticism from pro-Kannada activists and cultural outfits, who question the choice of a non-Kannadiga to represent a brand deeply rooted in Karnataka’s heritage.
Prominent Kannada filmmaker Kavita Lankesh voiced her discontent, accusing the government of promoting a narrow beauty standard. “Why are we chasing this so-called ‘milky white’ beauty when Karnataka has no dearth of talented and beautiful actors? This is taxpayer money, and we deserve answers,” she said, as quoted in a News18 report.
Roopesh Rajanna, a leader of the Yuva Karnataka Vedike, has threatened to protest in front of the Mysore Sandal Soap factory unless the endorsement is revoked. Karnataka Rakshana Vedike president T Narayana Gowda also denounced the decision, calling it an "insult" to the people of the state.
In response to the uproar, Karnataka Industries Minister M.B. Patil defended the selection, explaining that the state-owned Karnataka Soaps and Detergents Limited (KSDL) aims to expand its reach beyond Karnataka, and Tamannaah’s pan-India appeal would help achieve that goal.
KSDL officials added that several leading Kannada-origin actresses, including Deepika Padukone, Rashmika Mandanna, and Pooja Hegde, were approached but could not be signed due to existing brand commitments.
Despite government clarifications, the backlash continues, with many urging KSDL to reconsider its decision and choose a brand ambassador who better represents Karnataka’s cultural identity.
Let the Truth be known. If you read VB and like VB, please be a VB Supporter and Help us deliver the Truth to one and all.
Rahul Gandhi should've been allowed to quote Naravane's 'memoir' in LS: Sharad Pawar
Baramati (PTI): NCP (SP) chief Sharad Pawar on Wednesday said that Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi should have been allowed in the Lok Sabha to quote from an unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief MM Naravane.
The controversy on the memoir, 'Four Stars of Destiny', centres on the events of the Indo-China stand-off in 2020.
A row erupted in the Lok Sabha on Monday after Gandhi sought to quote from the unpublished "memoir" of former Army chief Naravane, but Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, along with other BJP members, strongly opposed it and accused the Congress leader of "misleading" the House.
Pawar said Gandhi "should have been allowed" to speak on the subject in Parliament during the Budget session.
ALSO READ: SC to hear Mamata's plea against SIR on Wednesday; Bengal CM may attend proceedings
"If the former Army chief has written something and if the leader of the opposition is saying something, then it is his (Gandhi's) right and he should have been given that opportunity," the Rajya Sabha member said at a press conference in Baramati.
He said that an atmosphere of suspicion should not prevail unnecessarily in the country.
"The former Army chief has written something in the book which shows there was some concerning situation. If a discussion had taken place in Parliament on the issue, people could have got a clear picture," Pawar said.
Though the book is unpublished, Gandhi held a copy of it and the Lok Sabha speaker asked to authenticate the copy, he noted. "Why was there opposition (to Gandhi) when the copy was authenticated?" Pawar asked.
Gandhi on Wednesday cited the unpublished "memoir" to claim that Prime Minister Narendra Modi did not fulfil his responsibility during the India-China conflict in 2020 and passed the buck on to Naravane.
Addressing reporters in the premises of Parliament House complex, Gandhi held up Naravane's unpublished "memoir" and said he would like the youngsters in India to know that this 'book' exists despite the government claiming otherwise.
He said Naravane has written the full account of what happened in Ladakh.
Gandhi has also written to Lok Sabha Speaker Om Birla, lodging his strong protest over being disallowed from speaking in the House on a matter of national security and terming it a "blot on our democracy".
He has also said that it was for the first time in history that LoP was not allowed to speak on the Motion of Thanks on the President's address.
