Lambasting those criticising demonetisation, actor Anupam Kher today said had the issue of displacement of Kashmiri Pandits been raised as vociferously, their problem would have been solved by now.
"If somebody is making efforts to make things better, let us not stop him. Let us constructively come together and support. Still if you feel troubled, then elections are due in 2019, they (people) will not allow (BJP) to come back (to power)," he told reporters here.
The 61-year-old actor was here to take part in concluding function of the three-day Lok Manthan programme organised by the Madhya Pradesh government and NGO Pragya Pravah.
Kher, who has Kashmiri origins, said, "Had the people of the country raised the issue of displacement of Kashmiri Pandits (KP) in the similar manner, a solution would have been found to their problem by now.
"Problem is we remained silent for last 60 years on so many issues," he said referring to Emergency, 1984 anti-Sikh riots etc.
Asked about people being forced to stand in long queues to withdraw money, Kher said, "You also stand in line for movie tickets.
"It is very easy to criticise someone. That is the easiest thing. But for 'these' people praising somebody is quite difficult. If people think that corruption and black money is a major problem, we should praise the move," he said.
Demonetisation would also tackle the issue of counterfeit currency being pumped into the country from Pakistan, he said.
Kher was quick to add that he was not praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi because his wife (Kirron Kher) was a BJP MP.
Kher criticised Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who
won a landslide verdict on anti-corruption plank for criticising the demonetisation move.
"For the last two to two-and-a-half years, he is doing nothing except pointing fingers at others," the actor said.
Touching upon the much-debated 'intolerance' issue, Kher said, "These days if we talk about patriotism, some people start feeling troubled."
The row over intolerance was raised unnecessarily, he said.
For every Indian, the nation should be of paramount importance, Kher said, adding that every individual has unique and different identities, but the first identity is Indian.
Buddhist leader Samdong Rinpoche and actor-writer Chandraprakash Dwivedi also addressed the function.
