Congress leader, actor and former Member of Parliament Ramya  had been targeted by BJP and ABVP for her statement on Pakistan. Reacting to the BJP dubbing her 'anti-national' for praising Pakistan, she sarcastically tweeted a report about RSS chief Mohan Bhagawat saying ‘Pak is our ‘brother’ government must work to improve ties’.

Her tweet said: Mohan Bhagwatji of the RSS says that Pakistan is India's brother :) & @narendramodi famous visit to pak we all know

Many on social media had also opposed her statement stating that “Pakistan is not hell” during an event in Mandya recently. BJP activists also held a protest in Mandya on Sunday following her statement.According to Kannada news channel Public TV, Ramya, who has recently returned from Islamabad where she had attended the SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference, said, “…Minister Manohar Parrikar said that ‘Going to Pakistan is like going to hell’. It is nothing like that. People there are just like us and there is no difference. They treated us very well…”

Ramya’s rival, actor-politician Jaggesh, who was participating at the ABVP protest against anti-nationalism, slammed her statement on Sunday, without mentioning her name.

Jaggesh reportedly said, “People who have not studied and don't have any experience are praising Pakistan. They should be given a peace prize, maybe a Nobel. They should also be allowed to stand next to Bill Clinton and take photos."

He also compared those supporting anti-national sentiments to 'mosquitoes and bedbugs’ which must be destroyed with poison.

She reacted to his statement through a tweet saying, “Ouch, that hurts”.​