Aamir Khan's sharp words

The Union government responded to film actor Aamir Khan’s view that intolerance had risen in the country in the last few months, by attributing the comments to having been made “under someone else’s influence.”

Minister of state for minority affairs, Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi said, “The country has given him (Aamir Khan) so much love and respect. I am sure he said it in a hurry or maybe under influence from others.”

“Tolerance is in the DNA of this country. Neither is he going anywhere nor will we let him go,” he added. The reaction was in contrast to previous reactions to such comments on intolerance by other celebrities, where BJP MPs would promptly issue statements on dispatching people to Pakistan.

BJP MP and Bhojpuri film star Manoj Tiwari however expressed strong sentiments of “disappointment” over Mr. Khan’s comments. “I am deeply saddened and shocked by his statement,” he said. “Aamirji should reflect on this statement that gives a wrong impression of the country,” he added.

Another film-star MP from the BJP, Paresh Rawal, urged Mr. Khan to fight it out in India saying he owed it to the country if he believed it was his motherland. “Aamir is a fighter so he should not leave but change the situation in the country. Jeena yahan marna yahan (to live and die here) a true patriot will not run away and leave his motherland behind in turmoil or in troubled times (if any). If I believe this is my motherland then I will never talk about leaving it, but I would if I believed otherwise,” he said.

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