Free-speech advocates went on the offensive on social media after news broke of a sedition plea being filed against actor-turned-politician Ramya by a lawyer for differing with Parrikar's statement. When others say Pakistan is not hell, it's sedition. "Leave aside what happens to bilateral talks because of such statements, the shrinking space for the peace constituency in the Indo-Pak context will be the real casualty," said Happymon Jacob, associate professor of disarmament studies at JNU. Jatin Desai, general secretary of the Pakistan-India Peoples' Forum for Peace & Democracy, described Parrikar's statement as "irresponsible". However, former Indian high commissioner to Pakistan, G. Parthasarathy, described Parrikar's statement as just a "different style of speaking".

Source: The Telegraph August 23, 2016 21:33 UTC