Kannada actor-politician Ramya faces sedition charge over ‘Pakistan not hell’ comment during SAARC event

BENGALURUAugust 23:  Actor-politician Ramya faces sedition charges for praising Pakistan after visiting the country for a SAARC event recently.

Ramya, 33, had referred to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s statement that “going to Pakistan is like going to hell” and said: “Pakistan is not hell. People there are just like us. They treated us very well.”

The Kannada actor, whose real name is Divya Spandana, has been targeted by political activists as “anti-national” and a lawyer has filed a sedition case against her in Kodagu in southern Karnataka, around 250 km from state capital Bengaluru.

The lawyer, Katnamane Vittal Gowda, has been quoted by reports as saying that he is “appalled” that Ramya praised Pakistanis.

The case will be heard on Saturday.

Ramya visited Islamabad for a meeting of young parliamentarians from SAARC or the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, a grouping of eight countries.

A member of the Congress since 2011 and a former lawmaker from Mandya, the actor has also been trolled on twitter for her comments.

“Delusion arises from anger.Mind is bewildered by delusion.Reasoning is destroyed when mind is bewildered”- the Gita pic.twitter.com/Gcedc7XtQg

— Divya Spandana/Ramya (@divyaspandana) August 21, 2016

Kannada actor-turned-politician Ramya, also known as Divya Spandana, is being trolled for her alleged remark that “Pakistan is not hell” since the past couple of days, The Times of India reported. Apart from abusive messages from the public, Ramya has been reprimanded by Jaggesh, another Kannada actor-cum-politician.

Speaking at an event organised by Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) to protest against anti-nationalism, Jaggesh, a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said, “People who have not studied and don’t have any experience are praising Pakistan. They should be given a peace prize, maybe a Nobel. They should also be allowed to stand next to Bill Clinton and take photos.”

Not quite done, Jaggesh added that those supporting anti-national sentiments are “mosquitoes and bedbugs” and should be destroyed with poison.

“Sedition” has been a hotly debated keyword in Karnataka after a police case was filed against Amnesty International over a Kashmir-related event last week where slogans of “Azadi” (freedom) were raised.

The state’s ruling Congress, facing criticism, has betrayed a divide over whether the sedition case is justified.