Time we educate ourselves: Varun Dhawan & others slam YouTuber for racial remarks on Arunachal MLA
Mumbai, May 26: Bollywood stars Varun Dhawan, Rajkummar Rao and Kriti Sanon have criticised a YouTuber for his racially abusive remarks towards Arunachal Pradesh MLA Ninong Ering.
Paras Singh, who goes by the name 'Paras Official' on his YouTube channel, had in a video posted on Sunday termed Congress MLA Ninong Ering a non-Indian and claimed the "state was a part of China", sparking furore among Arunchalees as well as people from other parts of the country.
Singh, who was arrested in Ludhiana on Tuesday, was apparently incensed with Ering after the Congress MLA wrote a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, asking for a ban on the re-launch of PUBG Mobile India's new avatar Battlegrounds Mobile India.
Filmmaker Amar Kaushik, known for movies "Stree" and "Bala", was the first from film industry to criticise Singh for his remarks.
"Being ignorant about your country and its region is stupidity in itself, but when that ignorance is expressed in an offensive manner, it becomes toxic.
"We all need to call out and condemn such ignorance in one voice and make all idiots understand that IT IS NOT ACCEPTABLE ANYMORE," he wrote on his Instagram Stories.
Dhawan and Sanon, who stars in Kaushik's upcoming movie "Bhediya", which was shot in Arunachal Pradesh, shared the filmmaker's post on their respective Instagram Stories.
"Having spent so much time in Arunachal Pradesh, it's time we educate ourselves and others about how wrong this is," Dhawan wrote.
Sanon said it is high time people start respecting every individual of the country with "equal respect".
"What's wrong with people!! It's high time we treat every individual and every region of our country with equal respect. A Thank you for talking about this @amarkaushik," she wrote in her post.
Rao, who worked with Kaushik for 2018 horror comedy "Stree", simply shared the filmmaker's post.
"Totally Unacceptable," wrote "Pataal Lok" star Abhishek Banerjee on his Instagram account alongside Kaushik's post.
Singh had apologised for his remarks in yet another YouTube video on Monday.
Ludhiana Police, under close monitoring of Arunachal Police, arrested him after tracing his whereabouts. He was also charged with inciting ill will and hatred towards the people of the northeastern state.
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Sujit Nair raises concerns over speculation of DMK-AIADMK understanding to block TVK
Chennai: Journalist and political commentator Sujit Nair has expressed concern over speculation that the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam and the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam could explore a post-poll understanding to prevent Vijay-led Tamilaga Vettri Kazhagam from forming the government in Tamil Nadu.
In a social media post, Sujit Nair said the election verdict in Tamil Nadu reflected a clear public demand for political change and argued that the mandate should be respected irrespective of political preferences.
Referring to reports and political discussions surrounding a possible understanding between the DMK and AIADMK, he said he hoped such developments remained only speculative conversations and did not turn into reality.
Nair stated that if such an alliance were to take shape, it would raise serious questions about ideological politics in the country. He said TVK had emerged through a democratic electoral process and that the legitimacy to govern in a parliamentary democracy comes from the people’s verdict.
According to him, attempts to prevent an electoral winner from forming the government through unexpected political arrangements may be constitutionally valid, but many people could view them as politically opportunistic.
He further said that such a move could particularly affect the political image of the DMK, which has historically projected itself around ideology, social justice and opposition politics. Nair said that in ideological terms, the DMK appeared closer to TVK than to the AIADMK, and joining hands with its long-time political rival only to remain in power could weaken its broader political narrative.
He added that the same questions would apply to the AIADMK as well, as the party had spent decades positioning itself against the DMK and such an arrangement could create discomfort among its cadre and supporters.
Drawing a comparison with Maharashtra politics in 2019, Nair said he had expressed similar views when the Shiv Sena formed an alliance with the Indian National Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party after the Assembly elections.
He said post-poll alliances between long-standing political rivals often create a public perception that ideology and electoral mandates become secondary when political power equations come into play.
Nair also said such developments increase public cynicism towards politics and reinforce the belief among voters that ideology is often sidelined after elections.
He maintained that the Tamil Nadu verdict was emphatic and said respecting both the spirit and substance of the mandate was important for the credibility of democratic politics.
