Amala Paul controversy: Actress turns nationalist, lashes out at media house; claims she did nothing unlawful

A day after actress Amala Paul irked social media users with her Facebook post on taking a boat ride to get rid of allegations of breaking the law, she turned an angry nationalist with her latest statement addressed to public and media.

Read more: Amala Paul gets 'roasted' by netizens, here's why

The actress openly criticised popular media house Mathrubhumi, which initially reported the news on the actress using Puducherry-registered luxury vehicles in Kerala and evading a huge sum in road tax.

According to the report, she had registered her Mercedes-Benz S Class worth Rs 1.12 crore and paid only Rs 1.25 lakh road tax, saving nearly Rs 20 lakh by using the address of an engineering student who is unaware of the alleged fraudulent activity. 

Amala, who claims to have paid over Rs 1 crore tax this year alone, has said the authorities have found no criminality in her action for registering the vehicle in the Union Territory.

The Puducherry Police, who have conducted an investigation into the actress' case, have reportedly claimed she has a rented home in the UT for which she pays rent regularly.

"She had a notary who has done due diligence. Technically, her actions are not unlawful," SP Rajiv Ranjan told the NewsMinute.

"I am in a state of shock the way an age-old daily publication, formed on nationalist principles by freedom fighters of malabar region, is today digging such shallow ways to raise their circulations and garner public attention. I feel I have the right to speak against these unwanted speculations and harassment caused to me and my family, despite paying taxes of more than a crore this year alone. And especially now, even when the respective authorities have found no unlawful act on my part [sic]," Amala posted on Facebook.

The actress then reminded the "self proclaimed socio-reformist newspaper" of her right to own property and assets anywhere in India, being a citizen of the country.

She also took a dig at the media house by claiming it has "lost" the meaning of its own name — "Motherland."

"I am an Indian citizen and assumed that I have every right to work and own any asset through out our nation freely. But now this self proclaimed socio-reformist newspaper, who has somewhere lost the meaning of its own name 'MOTHERLAND' and it's own history, has resorted to play the divisive regionalist propaganda, by making the innocent local readers believe that their state is separate from the nation at large [sic]," she added.

Amala also asked if she must get the consent of the "wise-men" who raise allegations against her to own property in Bengaluru or anywhere else.

"I wish to know from these wise-men that I have worked in Tamil Cinema as much as I have worked in Malayalam cinema, so help me rationalise my assets in both the states by respective distributions of my pay cheques. And should I have to ask their consent to work in Telugu Cinema or if I wish to own an asset in Bangalore? Last time I checked Bangalore's currency is also the same i.e. Indian Rupees 'INR' [sic]," Amala wrote on social media.

Amala ended her Facebook post on a positive note, expressing hope that there will come a day when people in the country are not divided as Keralites or Tamilians or Punjabis or Gujaratis.

She expressed her desire to see everyone as just Indians, who work together for the growth of the nation and fight against poverty, corruption, illiteracy and injustice.

Read the full Facebook post of Amala Paul here: