Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], January 13 (ANI): BJP National Spokesperson CR Kesavan on Tuesday slammed Congress leader Rahul Gandhi after he supported the Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan, calling him a 'shameless habitual liar and peddler of fakery.'

Kesavan accused Gandhi of insulting Tamil culture during the UPA government by opposing Jallikattu.

He called this an attempt to distract from the DMK-Congress alliance's internal conflicts ahead of elections.

https://x.com/crkesavan/status/2010988925960274097?s=20

In a post on X, Kesavan wrote, 'Rahul Gandhi is a shameless habitual liar and peddler of fakery. It was Rahul Gandhi's Congress-led UPA Govt which insulted the sentiment, culture and pride of Tamil people by demeaningly terming the revered Jallikattu as barbaric. The UPA Govt vehemently opposed Jallikattu, closely associated with the Pongal Festival, by issuing a notification, subsequently leading to the ban of Jallikattu. Thanks to PM @narendramodiji's continued support and committed efforts, the ban on Jallikattu was eventually lifted. Rahul Gandhi's comments about a movie that is now sub judice clearly exposes his dubious intent. His statement reveals the Congress party's dangerous and dictatorial emergency mindset which perilously prevails even today, always scheming to suppress and subjugate our independent democratic institutions.'

Kesavan accused Rahul Gandhi of ignoring censorship under Congress rule, citing bans on Kishore Kumar's songs, films like Aandhi and Kissa Kursi Ka during the Emergency, and the 15-year delay in the release of the Tamil movie Kutrapathrikkai.

'Does Rahul Gandhi recall how during the autocratic Emergency of Indira Gandhi, how Shri. Kishore Kumar's songs were banned from All India Radio because he refused to bow down to the diktats of Indira Gandhi's son and that movies like Aandhi and Kissa Kursi Ka were banned. Does Rahul Gandhi remember how a Tamil movie Kutrapathrikkai which dealt about the assassination of a former Prime Minister was completed in 1992 when there was a Congress-led Central Govt, but was not allowed to be released for 15 years till, 2007,' the post reads.

'Rahul Gandhi is blatantly lying to divert attention from the reality of how the DMK-Congress alliance which is a completely divided house now is completely collapsing under its own contradictions. The people of Tamil Nadu will reject and eject the opportunistic and evil DMK-Congress nexus in the upcoming elections,' the post further read.

His remarks come after Congress leader Rahul Gandhi came out in support of the Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan and attacked the Centre after the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) put the film's certification on hold, calling it an attack on Tamil culture.

He said PM Modi would not succeed in suppressing the voice of the Tamil people.

In a post on X, the Congress leader wrote, 'The I&B Ministry's attempt to block 'Jana Nayagan' is an attack on Tamil culture. Mr Modi, you will never succeed in suppressing the voice of the Tamil people.'

Earlier, the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) decided to hold the certification for the Vijay-starrer Jana Nayagan on the grounds that certain scenes in the movie could potentially hurt religious sentiments.

However, when the makers of the movie approached the High Court, Vijay's starrer initially received a favourable outcome as a single-judge bench directed the censor board to grant the U/A 16+ certification. (ANI)