Amala Paul, who got embroiled in a controversy for alleged tax evasion in purchasing her Mercedes S class car and registering it in Pondicherry instead of her hometown Kerala, has released a statement lashing out at a popular Malayalam publication which reported the story.
“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,” said Amala Paul.
Amala Paul said she’s an Indian citizen and assumed that she has every right to work and own any asset throughout the 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 playing the divisive regionalist propaganda, by making the innocent local readers believe that their state is separate from the nation at large,” she said.
Taking a dig at allegations that she had evaded tax to a tune of Rs. 20 lakhs by registering her vehicle in Pondicherry, Amala said, “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 paycheques. 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’.”
“Have these wise men forgotten from where our country has come in the last seventy years, after countless efforts by many great men, finally there is a sense of unity in our diverse nation. Even when the government has succeeded in bringing the country under one unified tax regime, I humbly request them to stop dividing and isolating the sentiments of our people. I sincerely hope a day will come when our future generations, will not be Keralites, Tamilians or Punjabis or Gujaratis but be just Indians and working together for the growth of our great nation. Let’s fight the real fight, the fight against poverty, corruption, illiteracy, injustice and not resort to lynching law-abiding citizens for short-sighted gains,” she added.