Actor Anupam Kher is leading a march to the Rashtrapati Bhavan (official home of the President of India) today in New Delhi in a bid to counter protests by writers and artistes against “rising intolerance” in the country.
“Nobody has the right to call our country intolerant. We are secular people and don’t believe in selective outrage. Speak about your problems rather than returning awards,” he said this morning after launching the #MarchforIndia movement, reported NDTV.
Kher also alleged that the “award-wapsi” campaign was defaming the country by projecting a “wrong” picture of the situation.
“India is a very tolerant country. Some people have coined the term ‘growing intolerance’. They are very few. Not every Indian thinks like that. We are secular people. We do not believe in pseudo-secularism, selective outrage or selective patriotism,” Kher, who is the spouse of BJP MP from Chandigarh Kirron Kher, told reporters.
Kher urged his followers on Twitter to join him:
According to NDTV, the actor claimed that the intolerance debate is an attempt to tarnish India’s image and intended to target the Narendra Modi-led government.
“I have the right to go to the President and say that we don’t feel India is intolerant. These talks can’t happen only on Twitter/ Facebook, they need a personal presence,” the actor has said.
He was joined by a string of artistes, writers and painters, including Madhur Bhandarkar, Narendra Kohli, Ronu Majumdar, Chandraprakash Diwedi, Priyadarshan among others.
Many questioned the actor’s motives and Twitter was soon flooded with tweets — some for the march and some against.
