Vijay Deverakonda is in the legal hotseat and has been booked under the SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, a month after he allegedly made offensive remarks that hurt the sentiments of the tribal community.
The complaint was lodged by Nenavath Ashok Kumar Naik, the State President of the Joint Action Committee of Tribal Communities. He accused Deverakonda of making insulting comments during a pre-release event for his upcoming film Retro.
Last month another person had also filed a case against the actor for the same comments. A petitioner had alleged that Vijay Deverakonda in his speech about the Pahalgam terror attack remarked that the attacks were akin to clashes between tribal communities hundreds of years ago.
What Vijay Deverakonda had said?
During the ‘Retro’ event last month, Vijay Deverakonda had said:”The solution to what is happening in Kashmir is also to educate them (terrorists) and ensure they don’t get brainwashed. What will they achieve? Kashmir belongs to India, and Kashmiris are ours. Two years ago, I shot for Kushi in Kashmir. I have such good memories with them (the locals).”
He also said that the neighbouring country struggles to provide its citizens with basic necessities.
“Pakistan can’t even look after their own, who don’t have proper electricity and water. What do they want to do here? India doesn’t even need to attack Pakistan because Pakistanis themselves are fed up with their government and will attack them if this continues. They behave like tribals did 500 years ago with the way they fight. We should stand united as people and love each other. We always need to move forward as people and stay united. Education is super key. Let’s all be happy and keep our parents happy; only then can we progress,” the actor said.
When Vijay Deverakonda issued a public apology
Vijay’s comments drew massive outrage, prompting the actor to issue a public apology.
Vijay issued a public apology, stating that his comments were never intended to offend or target any community. “There was absolutely no intention to hurt or target any community, especially our Scheduled Tribes, whom I deeply respect and consider an integral part of our country,” he wrote.
