Rashmika row escalates, Karnataka Congress MLAs divided over statement against Pushpa actress

A statement against Rashmika Mandanna by Congress MLA Ravikumar Ganiga calling her ldquoarrogantrdquo and ldquoungratefulrdquo has triggered a major controversy in Karnataka with his colleague AS Ponnanna MLA and Advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah stating that the actress is as entitled as Ganiga to choose where to go and where not to goThe controversy erupted after the actress and a few other Kannada actors did not attend the inauguration of the international film festival in BengaluruSlamming the actress Ganiga had said Rashmika Mandanna entered the film industry and started her career through the Kannada movie Kirik Party She was invited last year for the international film festival Rashmika claimed that she is living in Hyderabad and she doesnt know where Karnataka is Rashmika further said that she doesnt have time to attend the film festivalIrked by the actressrsquo remarks MLA Ravikumar a staunch follower of Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar slammed Rashmika Mandanna for her alleged arroganceMeanwhile Dy CM Shivakumar also came down on the industry and maintained that the film industry canrsquot survive without the government and the peopleSignificantly on Tuesday responding to a statement by his colleague Ravikumar Gowda the Advisor to Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and MLA AS Ponnanna told the media at Vidhana Soudha ldquoWe are living in a constitutional democracy and individual freedom is a fundamental right Rashmika Mandanna is as entitled as MLA Ravikumar Ganiga to choose where she wants to go and where not to gordquoWhen about the language used against her MLA Ponnanna stated ldquoI also feel the language is perhaps inappropriate Rashmika Mandanna is well within her rights to participate in a particular programme whether it is a state programme or not it is her choice I do not think anyone should be interfering in her right to choose where she should berdquoMLA Ponnanna and actress Rashmika Mandanna both hail from the Kodagu region and belong to the Kodava communityMeanwhile reacting to the controversy Ganiga stated in Bengaluru on Tuesday that he stands by his statement ldquoI can present the official invitation issued to Rashmika for last yearrsquos international film festival in front of the mediardquoldquoThis is our challengerdquo he asserted responding to claims that Rashmika was never invited to the eventMLA Gowda further stated ldquoLet this display of arrogance stop We donrsquot talk about actresses Anushka Shetty and Shilpa Shetty because they did not start their careers here They struggled and achieved success in the Telugu and Bollywood industries and they have also acted in Kannada filmsrdquoldquoWhat we want to convey is that Rashmika Mandanna used the Kannada audience as a stepping stone and then displayed arrogance The statement was meant to address her attitude not my personal opinionmdashit reflects the sentiment of the Kannada peoplerdquo he saidHe continued ldquoWhy would I target Rashmika Mandanna What do I gain from this I am not organising a film festival in Mandya We invited her on behalf of six crore Kannada people but she declined citing a lack of time Let her correct herselfrdquoRavikumar represents the Mandya Assembly seatldquoThis land gave her a careermdashshe should respect itrdquo he addedMeanwhile reacting to criticism against him for his remarks on film artistes Deputy Chief Minister Shivakumar stated ldquoLet them criticise I made the statement so that they would react I know how much I have contributed and those who have benefited from my help know it too This is about the state our land and our interests Itrsquos about your language Did we organise the international film festival for ourselves It was held to help their films growrdquoShivakumar further said ldquoIf film artistes donrsquot attend to promote their own films should we take responsibility for that too There may have been some lapses and some people may not have been invited Whether that was a mistake on our departmentrsquos part is a separate matter But ultimately it was their event and they should have attended the festival right No one is beyond criticismrdquoldquoWe can survive without films They need the government and the people to promote their filmsrdquo Shivakumar emphasisedSenior film producer and director Rajendra Singh Babu responding to Shivakumarrsquos statements remarked ldquoThe Mekedatu project is crucial for providing drinking water to Bengaluru There is a way to invite artistes Deputy CM Shivakumar should have considered how to maintain good relations with the film industry We have our own chambers and associations and there are senior artistes who would certainly attend if invitedrdquoldquoThe Kannada film industry has never turned its back on the language or the statersquos interests It has always responded to the states causes The artistes should have attended the international film festival voluntarily instead of waiting for an invitationrdquo Rajendra Singh Babu saidHe further emphasised ldquoWill Shivakumar be the Chief Minister for 50 years This is political After five years another government will take over He should not have spoken like a dictatormdashhe should have communicated in a more refined mannerrdquoldquoIf we are threatened with being unable to make films here we will go to Uttar Pradesh where they offer a Rs 5 crore subsidy In Jammu and Kashmir they provide a Rs 6 crore subsidy We do not need any assistance from the Karnataka government We are creators and we can create anywhere Shivakumar should take back his wordsrdquo he demandedldquoKarnataka is not anybodyrsquos grandfatherrsquos property Shivakumar has misused the platformrdquo he slammed