Indian actor faces sedition case for saying 'Pakistan is not hell'

Her remarks come after the Indian defence minister said 'going to Pakistan is like going to hell'

A sedition case has been filed against actor-politician Divya Spandana for "anti-national" comments.

"Pakistan is not hell. People there are just like us. They treated us very well," she had said after attending a South Asian Association of Regional Cooperation (SAARC) event. Her statement came after Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's recently remarked that "going to Pakistan is like going to hell."



Katnamane Vittal Gowda, a lawyer filed the complaint against Spandana. He said he was "appalled" by her statement, which he dubbed "anti-national". The Kannada actor, who has been associated with the Indian National Congress since 2011, had visited Islamabad in connection with a SAARC meeting of young parliamentarians.

In reaction to the filed complaint, Spandana, who goes by the name Ramya, asserted that there was "no question of apologising" and that she was "entitled to freedom of speech."



"It's important that the sedition law gets repealed. [I] didn't do anything wrong. Pakistanis are good people, just like us," she said, adding that she did not blame anyone because "people are very passionate about nationalism".

#EXCLUSIVE | No question of apologising for praising Pakistan: Actress @divyaspandana to CNN-News18 on the sedition complaint

— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 23, 2016

#EXCLUSIVE I'm entitled to freedom of speech. Nobody can curb it: @divyaspandana to CNN-News18 on sedition complaint pic.twitter.com/XVlUm9QCjS

— News18 (@CNNnews18) August 23, 2016

Earlier, Indian Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar had criticised Pakistan and said visiting the nation was like “going to hell”. His remarks came amid rising tensions between the neighbouring states.

Many took to Twitter in support for the actress.

I support #ramya ,#Pakistan is nice and people are nice. Only few mulla army, and some haters made hell like situation in Pakistan.

— Unknown (@mdammalli) August 23, 2016

Sedition rapidly becoming the most popular legal clause for out-of-work desh bhakts: https://t.co/l1LSF7EwFF

— Sukumar Muralidharan (@sukumar_md) August 23, 2016

How is saying 'Pak is not hell' sedition?V hv pbm wit Pak leadership & military,not wit its ppl & country @divyaspandana #ramya @IndiaToday

— Priyansh Maru (@MaruPriyansh) August 23, 2016

Making a mockery of the Sedition case by filing it against Ramya. Courts, which have lakhs of genuine cases pending 4 years, r bogged down.

— Rasheed Kappan (@kappansky) August 23, 2016

https://twitter.com/AMadumoole/status/767957096683958272

This article originally appeared on Scroll