Reminding actor Aamir Khan of his 'Incredible India' campaign days, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Tuesday said that the former was free to express his opinion and added that India will love her people 'Qayamat se Qayamat tak'.
"We all love Aamir Khan. He is a great actor, who makes even greater movies. But it's hard to agree with him when he says that India is intolerant. This is an 'Incredible India' which can never be intolerant. 'Qayamat se Qayamat tak' (forever and ever) India will love her people," BJP spokesperson Sambit Patra told ANI here.
Questioning the actor, who had been the face of the 'Incredible India' campaign, Patra asked as to how could the nation which treated outsiders like gods, hurt her own people.
"Serving outsiders like gods is part of our culture. Aamir said this himself. Then how can India hurt its own citizens? I request him to not leave the nation as we won't find a country like India anywhere, that loves him so much," Patra added.
Echoing similar views, another party spokesperson Nalin Kohli reminded the actor that his movie PK, which had caused a furore among certain communities, had been a resounding success and that was clear proof of freedom and tolerance in the nation.
"Continuous free debate and expressing dissent is proof of tolerance. Aamir Khan is entitled to a point of view under the Constitution, but people are also free to disagree with him. We should not allow the exception of a few isolated incidents to be seen as the norm that define India. Intolerance was only during the emergency where one was not even allowed to express himself," Kohli told ANI.
Speaking at the eighth edition of the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, Khan had yesterday expressed alarm and despondency over the rise in cases of intolerance in the last six to eight months.
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He said that a sense of "insecurity" and "fear" had seeped deep within the society.
"When I go home and talk to Kiran (Aamir's wife), for the first time she says, 'Should we move out of India?'," Khan said.
"She (Kiran Rao) fears for her child and what the atmosphere around us will be," he added.
Khan was later heavily rebuked by fellow actor Anupam Kher, who said that the actor should 'spread hope instead of fear'.
Expressing disappointment over Khan's remarks, Kher in a series of tweets asked if the actor would suggest millions of Indians to leave the country or to wait till the regime changes.
"Dear @aamir_khan. When did 'Incredible India' become 'Intolerant India' for you? Only in the last 7-8 months? #AtithiDevoBhavah. Did you tell Kiran that you have lived through more worse times in this country & but you never thought of moving out... Did you ask Kiran which country would she like to move out to? Did you tell her that this country has made you AAMIR KHAN," he tweeted.