Kannada actor Upendra apologises for remarks against Dalits, FIR lodged

Kannada actor Upendra’s recent Facebook Live session landed him in trouble after he made a controversial statement against Dalits. An FIR has been filed against him. Upendra was live on Facebook talking about his political party Prajakeeya when he made that controversial statement.

FIR AGAINST KANNADA ACTOR UPENDRA

An FIR against Upendra has been filed reportedly at Chennammana Kere Achukattu police station. During the Facebook Live session, he used language that was offensively perceived towards a specific community. While talking about his political party, Prajakeeya, the actor was quoted saying, “If there is a town, it inevitably will have Dalits."

The actor who seemed to have deleted the video, said, “Change can happen only with innocent hearts. I wish for innocent hearts to join us and speak up. Their suggestions will benefit us. They won't speak carelessly or insult someone. There are some who have a lot of time in their hands. They comment on whatever comes to their mind. Can't do anything about them. If there's a town, it will have Dalits. Similarly, these kinds of people also exist. Let's ignore them. Let's not read those comments. Patriotism is when you love people.”
The actor was talking about his party, Prajakeeya, and those who indulged in negative comments. He compared those to make negative comments about Dalits.

Soon after the session, his remarks triggered anger and protests in Ramanagara, Karnataka, where a pro-Dalit organisation protested against actor Upendra. The visuals from the protest showed the members of the organisation burning his poster.

UPENDRA APOLOGISES

In the wake of his controversial words that left many angry, the actor took to Facebook and apologised for his statement and shared how he "accidentally" made those remarks. “Today on Instagram and Facebook Live, I accidentally made a wrong statement. As soon as I learned that it has hurt the sentiments of people, I deleted that video from my social media. I apologize for my statement,” he wrote.

Meanwhile, the complaint asserts that as a public figure, Upendra holds influence and should have set a positive example for his followers.