Slippers were hurled at actor-turned-politician Kamal Haasan when he was campaigning in Tirupparankundram assembly constituency in Tamil Nadu's Madurai on Wednesday (May 15) evening. The Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) chief was campaigning for his party candidate P Sakthivel.
Around 11 people, including BJP workers and members of another outfit, Hanuman Sena, have been named in the police complaint. Luckily, none of the slippers hit Haasan and fell on the crowd gathered at the gathering.
According to a police officer, one person related to the incident has been detained.
The chappal attack came three days after Haasan kicked up a controversy, saying that "independent India's first extremist was a Hindu", referring to Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.
O May 19, bypolls will be held in Aravakurichi, Ottapidaram, Sulur and Tirupparankundram Assembly constituencies in Tamil Nadu. Haasan's Makkal Needhi Maiam have fielded candidates from these seats.
The Bharatiya Janata Party was quick enough to slam the MNM chief. "We strongly condemn Kamal Haasan for talking about Hindu extremism in his poll campaign. He is triggering communal violence in a place where there are a lot of minorities. The Election Commission must take stringent action against Kamal Haasan for this speech," Tamil Nadu BJP chief Tamilisai Soundararajan tweeted in Tamil soon after Haasan's speech.
