A lawyer based in Kodagu in Karnataka has filed a private civil complaint against actor-politician and former Congress MP Ramya for her recent remark stating that ‘Pakistan is not hell’.
She had recently returned from Islamabad after attending a SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference and had caused an online uproar with that statement.
According to reports, President of the Kodagu Praja Ranga, K Vittal Gowda, filed a private complaint under Section 200 of Cr.Pc in the first Judicial Magistrate First Class (JMFC) court in Somwarpet, accusing Ramya of insulting India and provoking Indians by appreciating Pakistan.
He also asked the court to register a case against Ramya under Section 124A of the IPC, which deals with sedition, besides other charges, under section 344 and 511, reports The Times of India. No FIR has been filed yet.
Judge Shyam Prakash has posted the hearing on August 27.
Recently, Ramya had been targeted by BJP and ABVP for her statement on Pakistan. Reacting to the BJP dubbing her 'anti-national' for praising Pakistan, she sarcastically tweeted a report about RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat saying ‘Pak is our ‘brother’ government must work to improve ties’. Read here.
Many on social media had also opposed her statement during an event in Mandya recently. BJP activists also held a protest in Mandya on Sunday following her statement. According to Kannada news channel Public TV, Ramya had said, “…Minister Manohar Parrikar said that ‘Going to Pakistan is like going to hell’. It is nothing like that. People there are just like us and there is no difference. They treated us very well…”