Karunas was granted bail by the magistrate in a case pertaining to making a provocative speech against the CM.
In a major relief for AIADMK MLA Karunas, the Egmore Magistrate Friday granted him bail in a case pertaining to a provocative speech made against Tamil Nadu Chief Minister Edappadi K Palaniswami and his deputy O Panneerselvam. Karunas, an MLA from Thiruvadanai, had moved a bail plea in court on Thursday, a day after the police were denied seven days custody of the actor-turned-politician.
Karunas was picked up by the Chennai Police on September 23 after a case was filed against him for the speech which went viral on social media. In his address to members of Mukkulathor Puli Padai, a caste outfit he founded, at Valluvar Kottam, Karunas claimed the CM was scared of him and went on to dare a police officer posted there to take off his uniform and fight him. READ this story in TAMIL
In the video, Karunas is also heard urging his supporters to commit murder. “You can even commit murder. But do so after informing me. There should be justification for that (the murder),” he says. He also advised the cadre to openly disclose their identities if they were to hurl stones at the opponents.
Karunas also claimed that though he belonged to the Mukkulathors community, commonly known as Thevars, his loyalties stood with the Sasikala camp but many “disloyal” members of his community had flocked to the EPS camp.
Following Karuna’s speech, the Hindu Makkal Katchi, the Tamil Nadar Sangam and a few other outfits met Police Commissioner A K Viswanathan, seeking criminal action against the actor.
Karunas had issued an apology a day later and expressed regrets for his remarks. “I didn’t speak against any community… I express my deep regret if whatever I spoke in anger over what has happened has hurt anyone. I will make sure it doesn’t happen again. As far as I am concerned, I only spoke about the demands of my community. It is not my intention to demean and speak ill of others,” he was quoted as saying by Puthiya Thalaimurai.
Who is Karunas?
Karunas is a Tamil comedian who has appeared in over a hundred films. He appears mainly in supporting roles, providing comic relief. He played the lead in Dindigul Sarathy and Ambasamudram Ambani. He is also a producer, musician and singer. Karunas is married to playback singer Grace, and the couple has two children.
Karunas founded the Mukkulathor Puli Padai. He contested the 2016 Assembly election for the AIADMK and won by a margin of more than 10,000 votes from Thiruvadanai.