After actor Priyanka Chopra created a controversy by calling Sikkim, a state “troubled with insurgency”, her mother Madhu Chopra, has apologised over phone to the tourism minister of the state, Ugen Gyatso. The actor’s team also got in touch with the Sikkim government and tendered an official apology.
K.N. Rai, speaker of Sikkim’s legislative assembly, said to THE WEEK that, “Priyanka should not have said that. I am happy now that she has apologised for her mistake. Sikkim is one of the most peaceful states in the country. We only have peace loving people here. From now, Priyanka should think twice before she speaks.”
The comments made us feel really bad and angry, said Dorjee Dazon Bhutia, energy and power minister, to THE WEEK. “Priyanka has not visited Sikkim, but her mother has. But that is no excuse for her to utter wrong things. On a global stage, it is her duty to get her facts right. I want Priyanka to visit Sikkim soon and see for herself the kind of state that Sikkim is,” he added.
Twitter and social media were seething, after Priyanka called Sikkim an insurgency affected state in an interview given to a television channel at the Toronto International Film Festival. She was speaking about the Sikkimese film, Pahuna, which had premiered at the prestigious film festival. Interestingly, Pahuna, which talks about refugee crisis, is co-produced by Priyanka's mother.
Priyanka told the TV channel that, “Sikkim is a small state in the northeast of India which never had a film industry or anyone who made films from there. And this is the first film ever that has come out of the region because it is very troubled with insurgency and troubling situations.”
In the year 2000, when Priyanka was crowned Miss World, she was asked by a judge which living person she admired the most, to which she replied Mother Teresa, who died in 1997. Old habits die hard.
