A day after actor Kamal Haasan’s comments that terrorism had spread to the Hindu camp, a case has been filed against the star at Varnasi in Uttar Pradesh.
According to ANI, a case has been registered against Kamal Haasan under IPC sec 500 (defamation), 511 (attempting to commit offences), 298 (uttering words etc with deliberate intent to wound the religious feelings of a person), 295(a) (deliberate and malicious acts intended to outrage religious feelings) & 505(c) (attempt to incite hatred, enmity over classes).
Times Now reported that a lawyer named Kamlesh Chand Tripathi had filed the complaint against Kamal for “hurting Hindu sentiments”
In his latest column in Tamil magazine Vikatan, Kamal had taken on the right-wing stating, “Earlier, the Hindu right would not personally indulge in violence, but instead through their debates they would incite their opponents to violence. But once this tactic failed, they started using muscle power instead of dialogue. They too have started using violence. They can no longer challenge saying 'Can you show me a Hindu Terrorist?'”
Alleging that terrorism had spread to the Hindu camp, the actor, whose political ambitions are well-known, emphasised, “This terrorism is neither a win nor progress for those who call themselves Hindus. Going from 'Truth alone triumphs' to 'Might alone triumphs' will make us all barbaric.”
His statement was in response to a question by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan published in the same magazine. The Kerala CM had pointed out that although Periyar’s self-respect movement had an impact beyond Tamil Nadu, in recent times, communalism and backwardness have set foot into Tamil Nadu. “The slow growth of Hindutva powers are weakening the Dravidian tradition. As a social commentator, what is your opinion on this?” asked Pinarayi in the magazine.
While acknowledging the rise of fascism across the world, Kamal, however, said, “The effort to turn the whole world right wing will not succeed. This is a temporary fashion. Like makeup, it won't last too long.”
The BJP and RSS hit out at the star for his comments. BJP leader Vinay Katiyar called Kamal “mentally unstable”, while Subramanian Swamy said the actor was engaging in “low level politics”.
This isn’t the first time the actor’s words have sparked outrage. Kamal’s recent tweet urging his fans not to distribute nilavembu kudineer, a herbal concoction used to treat dengue, until proper research was carried out caused Devarajan, an activist to file a complaint against him with the Chennai Police. Kamal had tweeted following reports that the core ingredient in nilavembu caused infertility. Devarajan, howoever, alleged that Kamal was trying to create fear among people and was attempting to spread "false opinions" against the government.
However, when the police found nothing defamatory in his comments, Devarajan moved the Madras High Court over the matter. The High Court then ordered the Chennai Police to register an FIR if a cognizable offence was made out.
Following the court order, the Chennai Police stated that it found nothing criminal in Kamal Haasan’s tweet that required action to be taken.