(MENAFN- Khaleej Times) Tamil activists from Mumbai gathered outside the Bandra home of the Bollywood superstar in the morning and began raising slogans against him.
A Tamil activist of Naam Tamilar or ‘We are Tamils party’ holds a placard and a portrait of Tamil tiger leader Velupillai Prabhakaran who was killed in Sri Lanka’s civil war in 2009 during a protest in Mumbai on Sunday. — AP
Mumbai: About a dozen persons were detained after they demonstrated outside the home of superstar Salman Khan on Sunday protesting against his decision to campaign for Sri Lankan President Mahinda Rajapaksa in the forthcoming elections.
The protestors who were Tamil activists from Mumbai gathered outside the Bandra home of the Bollywood superstar in the morning and began raising slogans against him. They also carried placards criticising him for backing the candidature of the Sri Lankan president.
The police then rushed to the site and dispersed the demonstrators who were also blocking traffic on the busy road. About a dozen of them were taken into custody. Security has also been stepped up outside Salman’s home after the demonstrations.
Many political parties in Tamil Nadu — including the Dravida Munnettra Kazhagam (DMK) and the Marumalarchi Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (MDMK) — have condemned the popular actor for campaigning on behalf of Rajapaksa. According to a DMK spokesperson they were opposed to the Sri Lankan leader because of his alleged role in the large number of civilian casualties in the 2009 action against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) in the northeast of the country and over the issue of harassment of Indian fishermen.
Last week Salman accompanied Bollywood actress and former Miss Sri Lanka Universe Jacqueline Fernandez to Colombo and campaigned for Rajapaksa. Jacqueline is a friend of Namal the younger son of Rajapaksa.
The presence of Bollywood stars at the President’s election rallies attracted large crowds in Colombo and other places. Presidential elections will be held on Thursday as Rajapaksa battling anti-incumbency and plummeting popularity rankings called for elections two years ahead of schedule.
But he suffered a jolt in November when his number two and close aide the former health minister Maithripala Sirisena (who was also the general secretary of the ruling Sri Lanka Freedom Party) dumped him and announced his candidature. Sirisena is now the main opposition candidate against Rajapaksa.-
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