Hindu Sena president seeks L-G sanction to prosecute MNM chief

New Delhi: Hindu Sena chief Vishnu Gupta has now sought Delhi Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal's sanction to prosecute actor and politician Kamal Haasan, for remarks he had allegedly made associating terrorism with Hinduism while campaigning during the 2019 Lok Sabha elections in Tamil Nadu.

Gupta has filed the complaint against Haasan under sections 153A and 295A of the Indian Penal Code (IPC) at the Patiala House Court and because the plaint is at the stage before summoning of evidence, it is mandatory that prosecution sanction be granted under Section 196(1) of the CrPC.

The complaint by the right-wing Hindu extremist group claims that Haasan had contested the Lok Sabha elections in 2019 and that while campaigning in the Aravakurichi Assembly constituency for his party Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), he had made remarks in question that were purportedly associating Hinduism with terrorism.

According to the complaint, Haasan allegedly said, "I am not saying this because many Muslims are here. I'm saying this in front of Mahatma Gandhi's statue. First terrorist in independent India is a Hindu, his name is Nathuram Godse."

Gupta, in his complaint, alleged that these remarks were purportedly made with the intent to ridicule the Hindu religion and allegedly cause enmity and hatred between Hindus and Muslims.