New Delhi:
Sticking to her controversial remark that “Pakistan is not hell”, actor and politician Ramya aka Divya Spandana on Tuesday told News Nation that her statement has been blown out of proportion and that BJP was playing politics over it.
Ramya is facing sedition case for praising Pakistan after attending a SAARC Young Parliamentarians Conference in Islamabad recently. Ramya, 33, who is a member of Congress since 2011, was referring to Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar's statement that "going to Pakistan is like going to hell" as she said, "Pakistan is not hell. People there are just like us. They treated us very well."
Below are the excerpts from her interview:
#I am not surprized because everybody is being slapped with sedition case
#This is exactly what BJP does. They try to misuse the law. They file sedition cases against anybody who is entitled to an opinion
#BJP is trying to supress the freedom of speech
#People in Pakistan were really nice to us
#Don't know why people have taken offence to that statement. All I said was that I disagree with Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar that "Pakistan is hell."
#Pakistan is definitely not hell. Pakistan is just like us and we were treated well there.
#My statement is being politicised
Ramya has drawn flak from political activists, who are calling her "anti-national". Moreover, a sedition case has also been filed by a lawyer against Ramya in a court in Kodagu in southern Karnataka.
The lawyer, Katnamane Vittal Gowda, has reportedly said that he was "appalled" by Ramya’s praise for Pakistan. Ramya has also been trolled on Twitter for her controversial remarks.
