An Indian film star has praised Pakistan. She declined to correct herself and said that she did not make any mistake.
Charged with sedition over her comments ‘supporting’ Pakistan, Kannada actress and former Congress MP Ramya on Tuesday, asserted that she has the right to speak her mind and would not apologise.
Ramya found herself in the midst of controversy after she reacted to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s comments that ‘visiting Pakistan was like going to hell’. Ramya said, “Pakistan is not hell. People there are just like us. They treated us very well.”
An advocate from Kodagu in southern Karnataka, Katnamane Vittal Gowda, filed the lawsuit against that actress on Monday, claiming that he was ‘appalled that she praised Pakistanis’.
Responding to the sedition lawsuit, the actress said, “I was at an event in Mandya and the media asked me about my experience in Islamabad. I said that I disagree with the Defence Minister’s comments, and I was treated well there. I only said what I felt. I am not afraid to speak my mind.”
She added, “I will not apologise as I have done nothing wrong. I am entitled to my views and that is what democracy is about. At any given situation I would apologise, but if I do now, that would be letting down the larger cause.”
