A day after Kamal Haasan stated that “Hindu terror is now a reality in India’, a defamation case for hurting religious sentiments has been filed againt the Tamil actor in Varanasi. Hassan has been booked under IPC sections 500, 511, 298, 295(a) & 505(c) pertaining to defamation, attempt to cause offence, intent to hurt religious feelings and to incite community. In a column for the Tamil weekly magazine, Ananda Vikatan, published Thursday, the actor had expressed that “Hindu right-wing groups have unprecedentedly started indulging in acts of violence”. The hearing in the case is tomorrow, Saturday.
“In the past, Hindu right-wing groups would not indulge in violence but hold a dialogue with opposite parties on their arguments. But this old tactic was defeated and they started using muscle power. They started indulging in violence,” Haasan wrote in the column. He further said: “The right-wing cannot challenge anyone asking the question: show me one Hindu terrorist. Terror has spread into their camp as well.”
The remark drew sharp criticism – especially from BJP. The national spokesperson of the party, GVL Narasimha Rao, compared the actor to Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) founder Hafiz Saeed. “Today, when Kamal Haasan makes similar comments, he is actually joining the ranks of P Chidambaram, Hafiz Saeed and is possible angling to become an extension of the Congress party,” he said on Thursday.
The column was a reply to a question raised by Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan about Hindutva forces’ efforts to make inroads in Tamil Nadu.
“Such terror activities will not help them in any which way… truth alone triumphs… No matter how many people want to derail this will come up because of its tendency. Tamil Nadu will become an example for social justice once again… for today Kerala shows the way. Congratulations,” Haasan wrote in an apparent address to Vijayan. Haasan had met the Kerala CM at Thiruvananthapuram in early September. During the course of the meeting, the actor had talked about his fan groups and his plans to enter politics. The veteran actor is expected to make some significant announcement on his plans to enter politics Novemeber 7, his birthday.
