A Karnataka Congress MLA on Monday (March 3) alleged that actor Rashmika Mandanna had “disregarded” Kannada and warned of “teaching her a lesson”.

Also read: DKS slams Kannada actors for skipping film fest; opposition lashes out

Rashmika, who was recently seen in the Hindi movie Chhaavaand Pushpa 2: The Ruleoriginally made in Telugu and released in other languages, is from Karnataka’s Coorg.

Rashmika claims she’s from Hyderabad

At a recent event in Hyderabad, Rashmika claimed that she is from Hyderabad, and it angered film fans and pro-Kannada groups in Karnataka.

“Because I’m from Hyderabad, and I have come alone and today I hope I am a part of all of your family,” she said.

Now, Congress MLA Ravikumar Gowda Ganiga has alleged that Rashmika refused to attend the state government’s international film festival last year when they invited her.

He claimed that she said “I have my house in Hyderabad, I don’t know where Karnataka is”.

“Rashmika Mandanna, who started her career with the Kannada movie Kirik Party in Karnataka, refused to attend the International Film Festival last year when we invited her. She said, ‘I have my house in Hyderabad, I don’t know where Karnataka is, and I don’t have time. I can’t come’,” Ganiga was quoted as saying by Years news agency.

“One of our legislator friends visited her house 10-12 times to invite her, but she refused and even disregarded Kannada, despite growing up in the industry here. Shouldn’t we teach them a lesson?” he added.

BJP attacks Congress

This comment of “teaching her a lesson” has drawn a sharp reaction from the BJP with former Union Minister Rajeev Chandrasekhar attacking the “goon” mentality of the Congress.

“You can never separate goon from Rahul Congressman. This pompous overblown #Karnataka MLA from constitution waving Rahul Gandhi’s party, wants to “teach a lesson” to an actress. I want to tell DK Shivakumar and Siddaramaiah to read up constitution – every citizen including actress hav rights and dont forget ur goon MPA has obligations to respect law and rights of citizens. If he wants a “lesson” in constitution, I/we will be happy to “teach” this goon – free of charge -anytime,anyplace Call me #KnowTheTruth #TruthAboutCorruptCong (sic),” Chandrasekhar wrote on his X (formerly Twitter) handle.

Rashmika made her film debut in Kannada movie Church party in 2016, and later found success in the Telugu film industry. She has not acted in a Kannada movie since 2021.

Ganiga responds to Chandrasekhar

Later, Ganiga clarified that his statement did not mean “rowdyism” or “gundagiri”. He added that he stands by his statement.

“Being a Kannadiga, I stand by the statement I gave. I am proud to be standing with my motherland, my language and my people… We are proud of Rashmika Mandanna. She is a Kannadiga. We called her, but she said she did not have time for Kannadigas. Is this the way to treat Kannadigas?” Ganiga told Years.

“We told her that Kannadiga is your motherland and Karnataka is the base of your career and you should respect your motherland. Now, she is working in Bollywood, but she should not forget her roots… I am proud of Karnataka and I don’t need any lessons from Rajeev Chandrasekhar… When I said we should teach her a lesson, I did not mean ‘Gundagiri’… I am not calling for rowdyism…,” he added.