Actor Prakash Raj who has been in the news lately for his outspoken comments against the Prime Minister and the BJP, has sent a legal notice to Mysuru BJP MP Pratap Simha.
The actor has taken umbrage to Simha’s derogatory comments where he has made personal remarks at Prakash Raj. In the legal notice sent by Prakash Raj’s advocate Naveen Nagarjuna, a tweet and facebook post by Pratap Simha on October 2 has been mentioned.
Addressing the media in Bengaluru, Prakash Raj said “I sent a legal notice not because he represents a party, but because he trolled. But today people who are voted are shamelessly trolling. If he does not answer legally I will be taking action. This is not against any party.”
On October 2, Simha tweeted “Being sad due to son’s death, having left your wife and ran behind a dancer, do you Mr. Raj have any right/legitimacy/worthiness to say anything to Yogi-Modi”
Simha’s tweet came a day after it was reported that Prakash Raj had lashed out at the Prime Minister for being silent on journalist Gauri Lankesh’s murder.
Also speaking on the vitriol on social media and on the attitude of politicians, he said, "I am a renowned actor, do you (Modi) think I will not be able to detect when you are acting. At least show me some respect, considering the fact that I am an actor and I will be able to tell what is the truth and what is acting,"
The legal notice says that Pratap Simha made more remarks on October3. According to Prakash Raj, on October 3 Pratap Simha said to a channel, “Your name in Kannada is Prakash Rai and Prakash Raj in Tamil Nadu. You change your name and identity according to your convenience and necessity in different states.”
Prakash Raj has asked Pratap Simha to tender an unconditional apology failing which he will take legal action against the MP.
In 2004, Prakash Raj's four year old son had died in an accident while flying a kite.
Calling Pratap Simha a serial offender who trolled people and made derogatory remarks on social media, Prakash Raj said,”He was trying to instigate and it has made my personal life difficult. When I'm sharing my hurt you can't troll me and ask your followers to troll. Mr Simha is a serial offender. When the wife of late senior leader Mahadeva Prashad stood for elections in Karnataka, Simha had the audacity to say that he thought she was in mourning but instead she was greedy for power. She cried on the stage.”
In a message to Pratap Simha, Prakash Raj said, “He represents a constituency and I'm worried about the women there as the youth are following him. We need social media, we need discussions but don't strike below the belt. Don't destroy the social fabric. In this light, I have taken this stand. I will fight, he might be an influential person”
Answering to criticism about not questioning governments before, Prakash Raj said that Gauri’s death was a wake-up call for him. “There is a question that why I didn't start asking questions, yes I should have started asking earlier. But I changed after death came to my doorstep. I thank Gauri”, he added.
Update: Responding to the legal notice, Pratap Simha denied making personal comments and challenged Prakash Raj to enter politics and see who has better support