Karnataka BJP chief says Kamal Haasan must apologise for saying ‘Tamil gave birth to Kannada’

Bengaluru: Karnataka BJP President B Y Vijayendra on Tuesday accused actor Kamal Haasan of "disrespecting" Kannada in his effort to glorify his own mother tongue.

The BJP leader also demanded that the actor issue an “unconditional apology to Kannadigas immediately”.

He was reacting to actor Kamal Haasan’s observation that ‘Tamil gave birth to Kannada’.

Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he said: “Artists should have the culture of respecting every language. It is the height of arrogance that actor @ikamalhaasan, who has acted in many Indian languages, including Kannada, has insulted Kannada.”

He also said Kannada is a prominent language in many parts of the world, including India, for centuries.

“Kamal Haasan, who supposedly brings harmony to South India, has been continuously insulting Hinduism and hurting religious sentiments for the past few years. Now, he has insulted Kannada by hurting the self-respect of 6.5 crore Kannadigas. Kamal Haasan should immediately apologise unconditionally to Kannadigas," wrote the BJP chief.

Vijayendra also said Haasan is not a historian to tell with authority which language gave birth to which language.

“Kannada language, which has a history of more than two and a half thousand years, symbolises prosperity and represents harmony on the map of India. Let us remind Kamal Haasan that Kannadigas are not language haters, but they never sacrifice self-respect when it comes to their land, language, people, water, and ideas,” he said.

Haasan made the remarks during the audio launch of his latest film ‘Thug Life’ in Chennai a couple of days ago.

Incidentally, Haasan was in Bengaluru on Tuesday to promote ‘Thuglife’.

According to Praveen Shetty, President of Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Praveen Shetty faction), the actor had left the venue before the members of his organisation could confront him.

“Today we are giving a strong warning to him. You want to do business in Karnataka and show your movies, stop insulting Kannada and Kannadigas. You were here to promote a movie, but departed even before the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike reached there to blacken your face,” he said in a statement issued on Tuesday.