Actor and BJP leader Paresh Rawal is in trouble over his remarks on Bengalis. The Kolkata Police have filed an FIR against him for alleged anti-Bengali hate speech.
Kolkata: Actor and BJP leader Paresh Rawal is in trouble over his remarks on Bengalis. The Kolkata Police have filed an FIR against him for alleged anti-Bengali hate speech. Earlier, Md. Salim, State Secretary of the CPI (M) in West Bengal, had registered a police complaint against Paresh Rawal for his “anti-Bengali” statements.
Salim alleged that Rawal’s comment was inflammatory and could provoke “riots and destroy the harmony between Bengalis and other communities.”
A case has been filed against Rawal under IPC sections 153 (provokes riots), 153A (promotes enmity between different groups), 153B (propagates denial of rights to linguistic or racial groups), 504 (intentional insult with intent to provoke breach of the peace), and 505 (promotes enmity between different groups).
The allegation is relevant because Paresh Rawal received backlash for remarks he made during a BJP campaign speech on Tuesday relating to inflation, gas cylinders, Bengalis, and fish. He apologised on Friday and clarified that he was referring to unauthorised “Bangladeshis and Rohingyas.”
“Many Bengalis live outside the boundaries of the state.” “Because of the hateful statements, I anticipate that many of them will be unfairly targeted and negatively harmed because of the vicious remarks made by Paresh Rawal,” Salim’s complaint stated.
