Aamir Khan comes under fire from BJP for 'intolerance' remarks; Congress slams Modi government

Aamir Khan comes under fire from BJP for 'intolerance' remarks; Congress slams Modi government

By ECONOMICTIMES.COM | 24 Nov, 2015, 11.23AM IST


Aamir on intolerance: I am alarmed, my wife suggested moving out of India

Sambit Patra said," You can't be alarmist over stray incidents.. Incredible India is a tolerant nation and one view does not change that."

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NEW DELHI: Bollywood star Aamir Khan's view of being "afraid" over rising incidents of "intolerance" across India drew sharp criticism from BJP leaders and actor Anupam Kher who termed his comments as alarmist and unfair.

Speaking at an awards function on Monday, Khan said: "When I chat with Kiran at home, she asks, should we move out of India? That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears what the atmosphere around us will be...That does indicate that there is this sense of growing disquiet, there is growing despondency apart from alarm."

The government reacted strongly to actor Aamir Khan's statement, saying such comments "tarnish the image" of India. 

"All this debate is misplaced. There are issues which society as a whole needs to come together and address. But to just make a blatant statement that during the NDA rule, the country has become intolerant unnecessarily tarnishes the image of the nation," Union minister Kiren Rijiju said, adding that records show the number of communal violence incidents have come down since NDA came to power. 

The comment was also panned by the BJP. Party spokesperson Sambit Patra said," You can't be alarmist over stray incidents, let's not define India based on a view... Incredible India is a tolerant nation and one view does not change that."

BJP leader Manoj Tiwari lashed out at the actor, saying he was 'saddened and shocked' by the Bollywood actor's statement. "Aamir has said such a big thing and disgraced the nation. He has done a wrong thing," Tiwari said.

Khan's comments evoked the strongest reaction from fellow actor Anupam Kher. Kher posed a number of questions to Khan on Twitter, and asked him to remember that "this country has made him".