Actor Kamal Haasan created a row in Karnataka on Tuesday after his remarks on the origin of Kannada language triggered backlash from netizens who called for an apology.
At an event in Chennai to promote his movie Thugs Life, Kamal Haasan said, "Kannada language has evolved from Tamil language."
These comments were made before Kannada cinema legend Shivarajkumar, who was a guest of honour at the event.
The remark soon provoked outrage on social media, with people questioning the historical prowess and expertise of Kamal Haasan over the issue.
B.Y. Vijayendra, the Karnataka BJP president, also criticized Kamal Haasan's remarks, calling upon him to apologize.
"Each person must love their mother tongue, but showing arrogance in its name is an indicator of cultural insensitivity. For actors, in particular, showing respect towards all languages is an important attribute," Vijayendra stated.
He went on to say that Kamal Haasan, who has worked in several Indian languages such as Kannada, showed "blatant arrogance" and undue pride by belittling Kannada while promoting Tamil at all costs, all in front of Shivarajkumar.
Vijayendra also charged Kamal Haasan with consistently insulting Hindu beliefs and injuring religious sentiments in the past few years, rather than promoting harmony in South India.
"Now, he has hurt the ego of 6.5 crore Kannadigas by insulting their language," he claimed.
He ended by calling for Kamal Haasan to make a swift and unconditional apology to the people of Karnataka.
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