The Hindu : National : Hema Malini's remark sparks protests

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Friday, Jan 26, 2007
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National

National

Hema Malini's remark sparks protests

Hema Malini

Mumbai : Actor-turned-politician and BJP MP Hema Malini's remark that North Indians should leave the city if they faced problems here set off a barrage of protest. Workers of the ruling Congress and the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) burnt her effigies on Thursday.

Protests were organised in Andheri and Bandra. Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC) spokesperson Sanjay Nirupam said Mrs. Malini should ``apologise if she really understood and meant what she said.''

The actor was asked at an election meeting on Wednesday evening about North Indians not being happy with the treatment meted out to them. ``If they have a problem, they should go back,'' she had reportedly said.

Mrs. Malini's remark came at a time when all parties, including the Bharatiya Janata Party, are trying to woo North Indian voters for the elections.

Another MPCC spokesperson Husain Dalwai said, ``She should remember that she is an MP first and then an actor before making such irresponsible statements.''

Mumbai has a large population of North Indians, especially from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and also a significant migrant population from the southern States.

Supreme Court lawyer Nand Kishore Jha, on behalf of Sakeel Saifi, Chairman of Muslim Yuva Aantakwad Virodhi Samiti, has sent a legal notice to Mrs. Malini. — PTI

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