Rejecting actor Aamir Khan's recent remark on growing intolerance in the country, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday accused the Bollywood star of trying to instil fear among citizens.
Citing Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi's tweets supporting Aamir's remarks, BJP spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said that a conspiracy is being hatched to tarnish the nation's image.
"We out rightly reject Aamir Khan's statement. Aamir Khan is not afraid but is trying to scare (people). Aamir Khan gives a statement and Rahul Gandhi supports. Rahul Gandhi's statement makes it clear that a conspiracy to tarnish nation's image is going on," Hussain said at a press conference here.
He also urged Aamir to stop making statements that tarnish nation's image.
"The country is developing and there is peace in the nation. The nation has given eveythign to Aamir Khan. When you are star, people listen to you, but your statements can also be used by those against to nation to tarnish its image of international platforms. Do not tarnish the image of the nation," he added.
Earlier, Rahul had urged the NDA Government to reach out to people to understand their problems instead of resorting to 'bullying, threatening and abusing'.
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"Instead of branding all those who question the Govt & Modiji- as unpatriotic, anti national or 'motivated' the Govt would do better to reach out to people to understand what's disturbing them..That's the way to solve problems in India- not by bullying, threatening & abusing!," Rahul said in a series of twitter.
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Speaking at the eighth edition of the Ramnath Goenka excellence in journalism awards, Khan had yesterday expressed "alarm" and despondency over the rise in such cases "in the last six to eight months".
He had said that a sense a sense of "insecurity" and "fear" had seeped deep within society.