Narendra Modi in Karnataka: PM praises 'angry Hanuman' creator Karan Acharya, slams Congress for giving art communal angle

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday praised artist Karan Acharya for his ‘angry Hanuman’ poster. [caption id=“attachment_4458313” align=“alignleft” width=“380”]  File image of Karan Acharya’s ‘angry Hanuman’ poster. News18[/caption] “This is a laudable achievement and is the power of his achievement, talent and imagination. This is the pride of Mangaluru. All TV channels are queued up for his interview”, Modi said about the young graphic designer at a rally in Mangaluru. Modi also slammed the ‘Congress ecosystem’ for criticising Acharya’s art. “The Congress’ ecosystem doesn’t even tolerate the magnificent art of Karan Acharya whose Hanuman captured the imagination of the entire country. Unable to digest its success, the Congress tried miring it in a controversy. There is no iota of democracy in the minds of Congress members”, Modi said according to a report in  DNA. According to a report in the  News Minute, Acharya, who hails from Kumble village in Kasargod district of Kerala, created the vector image in 2015 after requests from a youth club in his village to put something on the flags for Ganesh Chaturti. The vector is now seen on everything from t-shirts to even windshields.     According to a report in  News18, many see the piece as visual feeding into the rise of “hypermasculine Hindutva in India.” “I completely understand that symbols can be interpreted in various ways but it is so hard to not relate this to politics and political ideology. The fact that it is black and saffron and already the new face of outfits like Bajrang Dal is very scary”, journalist Shivangi Sinha Roy said according to the report. Acharya for his part, told News18, “My Hanuman has attitude, not aggression. He is powerful, not oppressive. But that’s the problem with art. There is no limit to interpretation”. Modi has held at least a dozen rallies in Karnataka on the campaign trail ahead of the Assembly elections. Karnataka goes to polls on 12 May. The counting of votes will take place on 15 May. With inputs from agencies