Randeep Hooda faced the heat on social media on Monday (February 27) after he cheered for former cricketer Virender Sehwag, who took a jibe at Delhi University student Gurmehar Kaur after her campaign against Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) went viral online.
Randeep Hooda and the Heroes Without Makeup campaign had a very interesting start
The Bollywood actor has now denied the charges against him and justified his stance through a long Facebook post. Randeep in his hard-hitting post wrote that that he can't be held responsible for instigating the hate threats received by Gurmehar and that it was never his intention to criticise her. Randeep says that if she stood up for something she believes in, she must have the courage to listen to voices against it.
"Viru (Sehwag) cracked a joke and I admit I laughed. Damn!! He is so witty and this is one of the other million things he's said that has made me crack up. That was it!! She spoke up, she stood for something she believes in, so then, she must also have the courage and fortitude to listen to the voices against it. To point fingers at someone else (in this case me) and hold him responsible for the reactions to her actions is not right," a part of his post read.
On February 22, the 20-year-old student of Lady Sri Ram College had made a Facebook post with a photo of herself holding a placard that said, "I am a student from Delhi University. I am not afraid of ABVP. I am not alone. Every student of India is with me." The post went viral on social media and many students followed it with similar posts.
Sehwag too posted a photo on Twitter that was similar to one posted by Gurmehar and soon Randeep shared Sehwag's post.
Responding to the trolls by Sehwag and Randeep, Gurmehar told ANI: "I am heartbroken, these are the people you yell for in matches and they troll you at the expense of your father's death. I have my own mind, nobody is polluting my mind. I am not anti-national."
She has also alleged that in the last couple of days, she has received threats including those of rape and murder.