Protest against Prakash Raj in Karnataka over his 'anti-Hindu' remarks

Pro-Hindu groups on Sunday staged a protest against actor Prakash Raj ahead of his visit to Karnataka’s Kalaburgi over his alleged "anti-Hindu" statements in the recent past. Protesters in black clothes chanted slogans against the actor and even raised black flags. Police have detained the protesters.

Earlier in the day, members of a Hindu outfit submitted a memorandum to the Kalburgi DM/DC (District Magistrate/ Deputy Commissioner) detailing the reasons for their opposition to the actor.

They also demanded a prohibition on the entry of Prakash Raj into the city.

The opposition came ahead of Prakash Raj's scheduled visit to Kalaburgi to participate in a dialogue event following which he is also expected to witness a ‘Gayagalu’, a play based on the human tragedy of war.

However, this is not the first incident that Prakash Raj has witnessed opposition by the right-wing groups.

A few weeks ago, right wing members sprinkled cow-urine and "purified the places" that Prakash Raj visited in Karnataka's Shivmogga district as a mark of protest.

The multilingual actor has been on the radar of the right-wing organisations due to his stern criticism of the Prime Minister and the right-wing establishment in the country.

On August 20, ahead of the Chandrayaan-3 landing, the actor started a controversy by sharing a cartoon of a tea seller on micro-blogging site X (formerly known as Twitter) with a cheeky caption that read, "BREAKING NEWS:- First picture coming from the Moon by #VikramLander Wowww #justasking (sic)."

However, Raj later clarified that it was a reference to a Malayalam joke.

In 2018, while speaking at the India Today South Conclave, Prakash Raj said, “They say I am anti-Hindu but I say I am anti-Modi, anti-Amit Shah and anti-Hegde,” the actor said at the India Today South conclave in Hyderabad.

He was then referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and late BJP leader Anant Kumar Hegde.