New Delhi: The Kannada actor-turned-politician, Ramya faces sedition charges for praising Pakistan during her visit to the country for a SAARC event recently.
Ramya, whose real name is Divya Spandana was recently in Islamabad to attend a SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference. On her return, she said that Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar was wrong in saying that ‘going to Pakistan is like going to hell.’ She said, ”Pakistan is not hell. People there are just like us. People treated us well.”
K Vittal Gowda, a lawyer, lodged a complaint against the actor for praising Pakistan, accusing Ramya of insulting India. The case will be heard on Saturday.
Ramya has since clarified that she made the comments in the spirit of promoting peace and welfare between India and Pakistan. Her comments have landed her in hot water as K Vittal Gowda, a lawyer, lodged a private complaint under Section 200 of Cr.Pc in the first JMFC court in Somwarpet against Ramya for praising Pakistan, accusing her of being “anti-national”.
Additionally, activists of Yuva Bharat, a pro-BJP organisation in Mysuru, launched a postcard campaign urging Ms. Ramya to “shift to Pakistan”. Some have even opined that Ramya’s comments were an apparent rebuttal against Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar’s recent comments against Pakistan.
33-year-old Ramya, who was born Divya Spandana, made her name as a leading actress in Kannada films. Although she has acted in Telugu and Tamil movies, Ramya is considered a star of Sandalwood, the Kannada film industry.
Ramya entered politics in 2011 by joining the Indian Youth Congress, and became a MP from Mandya constituency in Karnataka after winning the by-election in 2013. She was the youngest Member of Parliament in India at the time. Ramya again contested the Indian General Election from Mandya in 2014, but was defeated by C. S. Puttaraju by a margin of 5500 votes.
