Chennai: A day after Kamal Hassan was dragged on social media for advocating plebiscite in Kashmir, his Makkal Needhi Maiam party in a statement said that the context of the comment was a magazine article from three decades ago.
"It was about an option available at one point in time of history. This is no longer relevant and is in no way an indication of his position or the party's position today," it read.
The statement also said that the party believed that entire Kashmir is an integral part of India. “Our president and our party stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the armed forces in this hour of grief.”
Condemning the deaths of 40 CRPF jawans in Pulwama on February 14, Haasan had said he had predicted such an eventuality while writing on Kashmir.
“Why should a soldier die? If politicians on both sides behave properly, there is no need for a soldier to die. When I was running a magazine called 'Maiyam', I wrote about the Kashmir issue and what is to be expected,” he said.
In the video which was circulated heavily on social media, Kamal can be heard saying at a school event in Chennai- “I mourn this day because I forecast that this is what will happen, unfortunately, I should have predicted something else.”
“Hold plebiscite and make people talk. why have they not conducted it? What are they scared of? They want to divide the nation that’s all. Why don’t you ask them again? They won’t do it."
Calling Pakistan Occupied Kashmir (POK) 'Azad,' Kamal also said "In Azad Kashmir, they are using Jihadis' pictures in trains to portray them as heroes. That is a foolish thing for India too to think on those lines. If we want to prove that India is a far better country then we should not behave like this. That is where politics begins, a new political culture begins."
Dwelling on Kashmir and problems plaguing the region, Kamal Haasan said if politicians in India and Pakistan "behaved well", the Line of Control (LoC) will be under check.
