Centre revokes Kannada actor Chetan Kumar's OCI card citing 'anti-national' activities

The Central government, on Saturday, revoked the Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) card of Kannada actor and activist Chetan Kumar citing his alleged involvement in 'anti-national activities'. The controversial artist was recently arrested for his comments on Hindutva saying that it "is built on lies". The revocation followed a letter from the Foreigners Regional Registration Office (FRRO) on April 14 which directed him to return his OCI card within 15 days or submit a reply answering why his card should not be cancelled. 

An American national, Chetan is based in Chicago and he received his OCI card in 2018. In his reply, the actor cited his stay in India for many years, his contribution to cinema and his marriage to an Indian citizen. His reply, however, was 'unsatisfactory' as per the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) which went ahead with the decision to revoke his OCI card. In the Home Ministry's letter, it said that the OCI card has been cancelled due to Chetan's alleged derogatory remarks against judges along with the alleged 'anti-national activities.' Notably, the actor is currently out on bail after being arrested by the Bengaluru police on March 21 for his 'offensive' tweets on Hindutva. 

Actor's run-ins with the law

The actor was booked under IPC sections 505 (B) and 295 (A) which have provisions of penalty for deliberate and malicious acts, intended to outrage religious feelings of any class by insulting its religion or religious beliefs and disrupting peace between two communities. He was arrested after a complaint filed by one Shiva Kumar of the Bajrang Dal over the alleged tweet claiming that several pieces of information about the Hindu religion were lies.

In February last year, Chetan made comments questioning the credibility of Justice Krishna Dixit of the Karnataka High Court when the hijab row swept across the nation. He was arrested under IPC section 505(2) for statements creating or promoting enmity, hatred or ill-will between classes and section 504 for punishment to intentional provocation and insults to any person to disrupt public peace.