The Kalinga Sena Monday withdrew its threat of throwing ink at Hindi film star Shah Rukh Khan during his visit to Odisha for participating in the opening ceremony of the Men’s Hockey World Cup Tuesday.
The fringe outfit took the decision following an appeal from Hockey India president Mohammed Mushtaque Ahmad.
“We have decided to withdraw our pledge following the request by Hockey India President. Since it is an international event and Shah Rukh Khan is a promoter, we don’t want to protest, as that would give a bad name to Odisha,” Kalinga Sena chief Hemant Rath said. He, however, said that the people of Odisha had not forgiven Khan for insulting their sentiments and distorting history in his film “Ashoka” that was released 17 years ago.
The Kalinga Sena had demanded an apology from Shah Rukh, alleging that the film dishonoured the state’s culture and its people by portraying the Kalinga War in a wrong manner.
“Throwing ink on someone who has been invited as a guest shall bring a bad name to India and will show Odisha in a very poor light in front of all international guests, including the teams,” Ahmad said.
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