While speaking at Twitter townhall on his 50thbirthday hosted by India Today on Monday, Shah Rukh Khan added his voice to the list of celebrities and intellectuals who have recently spoken about the ‘growing intolerance’ in the country.
Over the past month, several authors, artists and filmmakers have spoken against the Centre’s silence and inaction over incidents such as the murder of rationalists like M M Kulburgi, Govind Pansare and the more recent lynching of a man over suspicion of beef consumption.
Khan said that he would even consider joining those who had given up their awards. He said, “I do think there is intolerance. There is extreme intolerance.”
He was also heard saying that the biggest mistake one could do while being patriotic was to go against the secular fabric of the nation.
The BJP, which is in power in several states and at the centre, has been at the receiving end, with many blaming the party for creating an environment which is stifling the right to dissent and promoting religious polarization.
Incidentally, on the same day, PM Modi who is on an election campaign trail in Purnia in the state of Bihar, chose to speak about the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Congress party workers allegedly killed Sikhs on the instigation of its top leaders and abused the state machinery after the assassination of former PM Indira Gandhi by her Sikh bodyguards on October 31, 1984.
Training his guns at the Congress, Modi urged the party to stop voicing concerns over ‘intolerance’.
This comes amidst speculation of a Congress delegation led by none other than Sonia Gandhi meeting the President later this week.