 "Shah Rukh Khan says widespread intolerance in society")
On a day that the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and Congress questioned each other on their respective records in supporting communal riots and intolerance, one of India's biggest superstars, actor Shah Rukh Khan, said there was indeed widespread intolerance in the country and he would not hesitate in giving up his awards, if asked to.
Responding to a question during a Twitter town hall with India Today's Rajdeep Sardesai, Khan said, "Yes, as a symbolic gesture I would give it up. I do think there is intolerance. There is extreme intolerance."
Khan also said the biggest mistake a patriot make was to go against secularism in India. He also talked about his past experience as a Muslim in India, citing several examples where his religious identity and status needed explanation after his remarks sparked controversy. "No one can question my patriotism. How dare anyone?" Khan said.
Khan is the latest of several filmmakers announcing that they are returning their national awards to protest the increasing intolerance in the society at large. These have included
Harshavardhan Kulkarni, Nishta Jain, Dibakar Banerjee and Anand Patwardhan. However, some like actor Anupam Kher have and directors Madhur Bhandarkar and Vivek Agnihotri have termed the move a "publicity gimmick" and an "insult".
Those having raised their voices against incidents like Dadri, where a Muslim was killed by a Hindu mob that suspected him to have slaughtered a calf and consumed beef, have included Reserve Bank of India Governor Raghuram Rajan, industrialists NR Narayan Murthy and Kiran Mazumdar Shah, musicians Zubin Mehta and Amjad Ali Khan.
In his last public rallies in Bihar, Prime Minister Narendra Modi today said in Purnea and Darbhanga said Congress President Sonia Gandhi has no moral right to lecture on tolerance.
He said the Congress should 'hang its head in shame' for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. He also accused the grand alliance of 'sheltering' those promoting terror. Modi wrapped up his campaigning in Bihar. The final phase of the Bihar polls is on Thursday.
Modi's remarks came as the Congress' top leadership prepared to meet President Pranab Mukherjee on the issue of alleged growing religious intolerance tomorrow. Congress president Sonia Gandhi also voiced concern on the issue of intolerance at a function in the national capital and vowed to fight the "diabolical design" of divisive forces to spread hatred, which posed a threat to the unity of the country.
In New Delhi, Parliamentary Affairs Minister M Venkaiah Naidu said Congress talking about intolerance is like the devil quoting the scriptures. He pointed at several incidents of intolerance in the past where those who have protested or returned their state awards did not protest.