The Madurai Bench of the Madras High Court dismissed actor Kasthuri Shankar’s anticipatory bail application on November 14, criticising her for controversial remarks about Telugu-speaking people. Justice Anand Venkatesh, presiding over the single-judge bench, heard Kasthuri’s plea following a complaint filed by the Nadar Mahajana Sangam in Madurai last week. The judge condemned Kasthuri’s comments, noting that her apology seemed to justify, rather than regret, her statements.
“The petitioner’s comments were unnecessary. How can someone who claims to be educated and socially responsible say such things? Will it not create unnecessary problems among those who watch videos of the speech? Her apology statement does not show that she has realised this. She only seems to be justifying what she said,” Justice Anand remarked.
Kasthuri has faced multiple complaints for making derogatory and casteist remarks about Telugu-speaking migrants in Tamil Nadu. On November 5, she spoke at a rally in Chennai, asserting that Brahmins are “persecuted” in the state. During her speech, Kasthuri, known for her Hindu right-wing views, stated: “When the descendants of the people who spoke Telugu came to serve the women of the harams of kings, claim to be Tamils now, who are you to say that Brahmins who came here long ago are not Tamils? This is why they cannot call themselves ‘Tamilargal Munnetra Kazhagam’ and found a term called Dravidians instead.”
It’s notable that the Telugu ancestry of prominent figures like late Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi and Dravidian leader Periyar has often been used to label them as ‘non-Tamils.’
Kasthuri’s remarks drew widespread backlash, including criticism from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). She later issued an apology, clarifying that her comments were “contextually specific to certain persons and not general to the greater Telugu community.”
Meanwhile, in Chennai, the Egmore F-2 police have booked the actor under BNS sections 192 (wantonly giving provocation with intent to cause riot), 196(1)(a) (promoting enmity between different groups on the basis of religion, race, place of birth, residence, language, caste, or community), 353(1)(b) (criminal intimidation) and 353(2) (criminal intimidation).
Read: At rally against ‘Brahmin persecution’, actor Kasthuri makes controversial remarks