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Authors Returning Sahitya Akademi Awards To Discredit PM Modi, Says Actor Anupam Kher

Authors Returning Sahitya Akademi Awards To Discredit PM Modi, Says Actor Anupam Kher
From left: Indian actors Anupam Kher takes part in a discussion on the links between Indian theater and cinema at Embassy of India on August 20, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)
MANDEL NGAN via Getty Images
From left: Indian actors Anupam Kher takes part in a discussion on the links between Indian theater and cinema at Embassy of India on August 20, 2015 in Washington, DC. AFP PHOTO/MANDEL NGAN (Photo credit should read MANDEL NGAN/AFP/Getty Images)

MUMBAI -- Veteran actor Anupam Kher on Wednesday lashed out at writers returning their awards to the Sahitya Akademi, saying the move is

"politically motivated" and aimed to "discredit" Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

"I think the move is politically motivated. It's not like violent incidents are happening in India for the first time," Kher told ANI.

"I think this is mostly to discredit the Prime Minister. If they want to return, why not return everything?" he added.

Several authors, including Nayantara Sehgal, Sara Joseph, Uday Prakash, Ashok Vajpeyi and Aravind Malagutti, have returned their Sahitya Akademi awards.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.