JOIN USNow, BJP MP compares SRK with Hafiz Saeed
Just when the BJP was clearing the air over its leader’s controversial remark on actor Shah Rukh Khan, party MP Yogi Adityanath started a fresh fire when he said Khan and 26/11 attacks mastermind Hafiz Saeed “speak the same language”.
“...I am saying these people are speaking in terrorists’ language. I think there is no difference between the language of Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed,” Adityanath told reporters during an informal chat in Gorakhpur, his Lok Sabha constituency.
Adityanath also said that if the majority community boycotted Shah Rukh’s movies, he would be “on the road like other common Muslims”.
When asked to comment on Saeed’s invitation over Twitter to Khan and other Muslims facing difficulty in India to come to Pakistan, the BJP leader said the actor must reply to the suggestion, adding that all those who felt like him should go to Pakistan.
Khan had recently expressed concern over what he termed was growing intolerance in the country and said that it would hurt the nation.
Following this, on Monday, BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya kicked up a row with his tweet: “Shah Rukh Khan lives in India, but his heart is in Pakistan.”
Under pressure from the party leadership, Vijayvargiya retracted his controversial remark on Tuesday but added that Khan would not have been the most popular actor after Amitabh Bachchan had there been intolerance in the country.
Steering clear of the controversy, Union minister Venkaiah Naidu said: “What is reported is not the view of the party. 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.”
The day which went back and forth on remarks first and clarification later, also saw the BJP calling Adityanath’s comment as “incorrect” and “uncalled for”.
Party spokesperson Nalin Kohli showered praises on Khan and insisted that there cannot be a comparison between a law-abiding citizen and a Pakistani terrorist.
“His (Adityanath) comments are incorrect and uncalled for. They do not reflect in any way the core belief of the BJP or that of Prime Minister Narendra Modi. There cannot be any comparison of any law-abiding Indian citizen with a terrorist like Hafiz Saeed, certainly not Khan who is a much loved and respected Indian national and artiste,” said Kohli.