'Terrorists abound in all religions,' Haasan defends Godse remark

After stones were hurled at his election rally, MNM founder Kamal Haasan said that he does not feel threatened. The actor-turned-politician, who bore the brunt of criticism for his remarks on Nathuram Godse, said that all religions have extremists and terrorists.

Chennai:Makkal Needhi Maiam founder Kamal Haasan on Friday defended his comments on Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse, saying that terrorists abound in all religions.

Reacting to the strong backlash over his comments on Godse earlier this week, Haasan said that he does not feel threatened by the instances of shoe and stone-hurling at his political rallies.

"I do not feel threatened at all. I feel the quality of polity is going down. Regardless, I will never indulge in such mud-slinging," he said.

Backing his comments on Godse, the actor-turned politician said, "Terrorists abound in all religions, we cannot claim that we are sanctimonious. History shows that all religions have their extremists. My talk that day was on harmony."

Haasan, founder of new political outfit Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM), kicked up a controversy this week with his comment that 'free India's first extremist was a Hindu', a reference to Mahatma Gandhi's assassin Nathuram Godse.

Read: Kamal Haasan asks party cadre to maintain decorum, not to be drawn into violence