The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and its on-again, off-again ally Shiv Sena (SS) have strong condemned actor Kamal Haasan for his ‘Hindu militancy’ comments in an article the aspiring politician penned in a leading regional weekly.  Both the partie have sought an apology from the actor for his comments.

Penning an article in a regional weekly journal, Kamal, who has always prided himself for being an atheist, said “They (Hindus) can no more say that they don’t have any militants among them; militancy has spread among (Hindus) like it was never before!”

Speaking to an English news television channel, BJP spokesperson Narayanan Tirupathi demanded immediate and unconditional from Kamal Haasan for his off-the-cuff remarks.  “Kamal should not only seek apology from Hindus but should also withdraw his opinion in the article.  The reality is that the country remains peaceful only because of the fact that Hindus are the majority here,” he said.

Shiv Sena’s spokesperson Manisha Kayande termed Kamal’s remarks as ‘useless allegations’ which won’t help his political cause.  “Kamal would do well to remember that the Congress party has been relegated to the Opposition benches across the country’s Assemblies because of its needless comments about the non-existing Hindu militancy,” she said.

Noted political observer R.K. Radhakrishnan has described Kamal’s comments as a ‘possible attempt to get good name from Tamils, most of whom don’t support the ‘Hindutva’ philosophies.  Kamal might also have attempted to grab the attention of majority of people who like neither the AIADMK nor the DMK, he added.