Makkal Needhi Maiam (MNM) on Monday issued a statement clarifying certain remarks that its chief Kamal Haasan reportedly made regarding plebiscite in Kashmir.

In its statement, MNM said that a news channel “completely twisted” the statements made by Haasan where he was speaking about Thursday’s Pulwama terror attack that left over 40 CRPF jawans dead.

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Addressing a gathering in Chennai on Sunday, Haasan, according to a TV channel, said that he regrets when “people say army men are going to Kashmir to die”.

While describing his conversations with the parents of two soldiers who were killed, Haasan said that he had once predicted how things would turn out in Kashmir in an article written years ago for a magazine.

“Why do the soldiers die?  Why should our home’s watchman die? If politicians on both sides (in India and in Pakistan) behave properly, no soldier needs to die. The Line of Control will be under control,” ANI quoted Haasan as saying during the event.

It was during this event that Haasan reportedly made a reference to plebiscite in Kashmir.

In its statement, MNM said the references in the media “were mentioned by our party president in the context of a magazine article published three decades ago about an option that was available at one point in time of history”.

“This is no longer relevant and is in no way an indication of his position of party’s position today,” the statement read.

“We firmly believe that entire Kashmir is an integral part of India and we stand firmly with our armed forces, para-military and central police forces who defend it selflessly,” MNM said.

The party said that Haasan spoke to K Vijay Kumar, advisor to J-K Governor, and also to the bereaved parents of the martyrs from Tamil Nadu to show his respect and share the grief.

“Our president and our party stand shoulder-to-shoulder with the armed forces in this hour of grief,” the statement read.

On Thursday, 14 February, 44 CRPF troopers were killed in a dastardly terror attack by a suicide bomber in Pulwama’s Awantipora area. The troopers were part of a convoy consisting of over 70 vehicles carrying around 2500 CRPF personnel.