Kalinga Sena withdraws its threat against Shah Rukh Khan ahead of inaugural ceremony of Hockey World Cup

Kalinga Sena has withdrawn its threat to throw ink on Shah Rukh Khan. On Monday, the fringe outfit took the decision following an appeal from Hockey India president Mohammed Mushtaque Ahmad. The outfit had earlier threatened to throw ink at SRK during his visit for Hockey World Cup which kickstarts from 28th November in Bhuvaneshwar. 

“We have decided to withdraw our pledge following the request by Hockey India President. Since it is an international event and Shah Rukh Khan is a promoter, we don’t want to protest, as that would give a bad name to Odisha,” Kalinga Sena chief Hemant Rath said.

However, Rath said that the people of Odisha had not forgiven Khan for 'insulting their sentiments and distorting history in his film 'Ashoka' which 17 years back.  

The Kalinga Sena had demanded an apology from Shah Rukh who played the lead role and was also the producer of the film, alleging that the film dishonoured the state’s culture and by portraying the Kalinga War in a wrong manner.

Earlier, the Hockey India President, in a letter, had appealed to the outfit not to protest against Khan’s visit. “Shah Rukh Khan is one of the most popular actors of India and is widely known in the hockey community for his support for hockey and movie Chak de India and because of this he has been invited to attend the opening ceremony,” said Ahmad.

“Throwing ink on someone who has been invited as a guest shall bring a bad name to India and will show Odisha in a very poor light in front of all international guests, including the teams,” he added.

Shah Rukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit and music director AR Rahman will perform during the inaugural ceremony of the Men’s Hockey World Cup at Kalinga Stadium here on Tuesday.