Kamal Haasan (File Image)

NEW DELHI: Karnataka BJP President BY Vijayendra on Tuesday accused actor Kamal Haasan of “disrespecting” Kannada in his effort to glorify his own mother tongue, news agency PTI reported.The BJP leader demanded that the actor issue an “unconditional apology to Kannadigas immediately.” Vijayendra was responding to Kamal Haasan’s recent observation that “Tamil gave birth to Kannada,” made during the audio launch of his latest film, Thug Life, in Chennai a few days ago. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), Vijayendra said, “Artists should have the culture of respecting every language. It is the height of arrogance that actor @ikamalhaasan, who has acted in many Indian languages, including Kannada, has insulted Kannada.” He added, “Kannada is a prominent language in many parts of the world, including India, for centuries.” “Kamal Haasan, who supposedly brings harmony to South India, has been continuously insulting Hinduism and hurting religious sentiments for the past few years. Now, he has insulted Kannada by hurting the self-respect of 6.5 crore Kannadigas. Kamal Haasan should immediately apologise unconditionally to Kannadigas,” the BJP chief wrote. Vijayendra further stated, “He is not a historian to tell with authority which language gave birth to which language.” He emphasised the rich heritage of Kannada, saying, “Kannada language, which has a history of more than two and a half thousand years, symbolises prosperity and represents harmony on the map of India. Let us remind Kamal Haasan that Kannadigas are not language haters, but they never sacrifice self-respect when it comes to their land, language, people, water, and ideas.” Haasan was in Bengaluru on Tuesday to promote Thug Life. However, according to Praveen Shetty, president of the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike (Praveen Shetty faction), the actor left the venue before members of the organisation could confront him. Shetty issued a strong warning, saying, “Today we are giving a strong warning to him. You want to do business in Karnataka and show your movies, stop insulting Kannada and Kannadigas. You were here to promote a movie, but departed even before the Karnataka Rakshana Vedike reached there to blacken your face.”(With inputs from PTI)