Even as he came under attack from sections in BJP, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan on Wednesday received support from ruling ally Shiv Sena which said the superstar should not be targeted only because he is a Muslim and that the minority community in India is “tolerant”.
“This country is tolerant and the Muslims are tolerant as well. Shah Rukh Khan should not be targeted only because he is a Muslim,” Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut told PTI.
Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Kailash Vijayvargiya had on Tuesday triggered a controversy when he tweeted that Shah Rukh’s “soul” is in Pakistan though he lives in India. His remarks came a day after the 50-year-old actor said there is “extreme intolerance” in the country.
Earlier on Wednesday controversial BJP MP Yogi Adityanath compared Shah Rukh to Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed, the alleged mastermind of Mumbai carnage, over his “extreme intolerance” comment and also suggested that he go to Pakistan.
Slamming Vijayvargiya, Raut asked the BJP general secretary not to bring Pakistan into this debate on tolerance, saying that it is India’s internal matter.
He said Shah Rukh is a superstar only because India is tolerant.
“Shah Rukh Khan is a superstar only because the country is tolerant and has never thought in the name of religion,” the Sena leader said.
However, Raut said Shah Rukh spoke quite late on the issue.
“First of all Shah Rukh Khan should not have gotten into this debate on tolerance and secondly, out of the people who have returned their awards, the number of Muslims is almost negligible. Also, Shah Rukh spoke on the issue very late,” he said.
Meanwhile, under fire for his remark against Shah Rukh, Vijayvargiya on Wednesday withdrew his controversial tweets but asserted that had there been intolerance in India, Shah Rukh would not have been the most popular actor after Amitabh Bachchan.
Rivals say the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party is whipping up religious tensions to win the election in Bihar, the country’s third most populous state and critical to Modi’s plans to improve his party’s strength in the upper house of parliament.
Since the BJP swept to power, Hindu groups have stepped up a campaign against intermarriage with Muslims, begun rewriting school textbooks to reflect a nationalist view and are demanding a ban on cow slaughter.
“There is extreme intolerance,” Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan told India Today television channel, the latest artist to speak up after a string of writers returned awards given by the government in protest against attacks on religious minorities.
Under fire for his remark against actor Shah Rukh Khan, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Wednesday withdrew his controversial tweets but asserted that had there been intolerance in India, Shah Rukh would not have been the most popular actor after Amitabh Bachchan.
“My intention was not to hurt anyone. I take back my yesterday’s tweet,” he said on microblogging site Twitter Wednesday morning, even as his party distanced itself from his earlier remarks critical of the actor saying it was “not the view of the BJP”.
In another tweet, the BJP general secretary said that had there been intolerance in India “after Amitabh, Shah Rukh would not have been the most popular actor. Some people have drawn different meaning from my tweet.”
Vijayvargiya had triggered a controversy on Tuesday when he tweeted that Shah Rukh’s “soul” is in Pakistan though he lives in India. His remarks had come a day after the actor said there is “extreme intolerance” in the country.
Senior BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) leader and Union Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said what Vijayvargiya has said is “not the view of the BJP”.
“We have not seen what exactly he has said. What is reported is not the view of the party. We don’t normally comment on individuals also.
“We have no problems with Shah Rukh Khan. He is a great actor. Undoubtedly people admire him. But what exactly Vijayvargiya has said I have not gone through it,” Naidu said.
Vijayvargiya had come under attack over his tweets against Shah Rukh Khan with Trinamool Congress spokesperson Derek O’Brien terming them “sickening”.
“Sickening remarks against Shah Rukh Khan by BJP general secretary also Bengal in-charge. What kind of attitude is this? Everyone else is bad and only you are good?” Derek had said in a statement.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal had also come out in support of the Bollywood superstar.
“We r all proud of you. @iamsrk Hope your words help to make a tolerant, inclusive and progressive India,” he had tweeted.
