Actor who churned Kantara controversy, supports pro-Pak sloganwalas

Bengaluru: After making controversial statements on 'Kantara' movie, actor Chetan Kumar Ahimsa has made statements in support of students who raised pro-Pakistan slogans. He took to social media to announce his support by claiming that taking the students into custody is ridiculous and dangerous.

On Thursday, three students had raised 'Pakistan Zindabad' slogan at a cultural fest in their college in Bengaluru. Other students of the institution questioned them about their sloganeering to which they replied that they did it just for fun and apologised. The police have filed an FIR against the three students who are studying engineering at a college of great repute. After the students were booked by the police, the college administration has suspended the students. According to police reports, two of the students raised the slogans while another student filmed it. Upon investigation, police revealed that the students raised the slogan just for fun.

Meanwhile, Chetan Ahimsa lost no time in tweeting to push the narrative that people of Pakistan are the kith and kin of Indians. He tweeted, "For sloganeering 'Pakistan Zindabad' for fun at their college fest yesterday (Friday), 3 Bengaluru students - Aryan, Ria & Dinakar - have been bullied and taken into police custody... Ridiculous & dangerous. People of Pakistan are our kith and kin - not our enemies. Freedom of speech must be upheld."

This narrative did not sink well with some of his followers as they attacked his tweet with instances of Pakistan sponsored terrorism and a non-existent freedom of speech in Pakistan. One user tweeted about Major Sandeep Unnikrishnan who was martyred in the terror attack in Mumbai and asked Chetan to have a chat with Major Sandeep's parents as they currently live in Bengaluru.

Last month, Chetan became infamous for conducting a press conference and claiming that the 'Bhootha Kola' tradition portrayed in the blockbuster movie, 'Kantara – A Legend' does not belong to Hindu culture. He received heavy flak from social media users who live on the coast and Western Ghat regions of Karnataka where 'Bhootha Kola' events take place. While many social media users claim that Chetan sparked this controversy to gain limelight, some others claim that he was making half-witted, preposterous statements without historical backing. For his comments on 'Bhootha Kola', Chetan also received nasty condemnations from right-wing outfits. The movie 'Kantara' however, wasn't affected by Chetan's comments as it crossed the box office collection of the top grossing movie, 'KGF – Chapter 2'.