Shah Rukh Khan should not be targeted for being a Muslim, says Shiv Sena

Mumbai: Even as he came under attack from sections in BJP, Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan on Wednesday received support from ruling ally Shiv Sena, which said the superstar should not be targeted only because he is a Muslim and that the minority community in India is "tolerant".

"This country is tolerant and the Muslims are tolerant as well. Shah Rukh Khan should not be targeted only because he is a Muslim," Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut said.

Actor Anupam Kher also came out in support of his "Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge" co-star Shah Rukh Khan.

Kher, 60, took to Twitter to blast the controversial statements made against Shah Rukh. "Some members of the BJP really need to control their tongue & stop talking rubbish about @iamsrk. He is a national icon & We r PROUD of him," he tweeted.

Indian citizens, ordinary and famous, are now dismayed at the frankly communal talk by some Hindu hardliners. Last week, Moody's Analytics warned that Narendra Modi must keep his members in check or risk losing domestic and global credibility".

On the occasion of his 50th birthday earlier this week, Shah Rukh had said: "We will never be a superpower if we are not going to believe that all religions are equal." Industrt stalwarts like N. R. Narayana Murthy and Kiran Mazumdar Shaw have also expressed concern about good business in such an atmosphere.

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya had on Tuesday triggered a controversy when he tweeted that Shah Rukh's "soul" is in Pakistan though he lives in India. His remarks came a day after the 50-year-old actor said there is "extreme intolerance" in the country.

Earlier on Wednesday, controversial BJP MP Yogi Adityanath compared Shah Rukh to Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed, the mastermind of Mumbai carnage, over his "extreme intolerance" comment and also suggested that he go to Pakistan.

Also read:

Shah Rukh Khan gets vocal on growing religious intolerance

BJP hardliners pick on Shah Rukh now, MP likens actor to Pak's Hafiz Saeed

Shah Rukh Khan anti-national, his heart lives in Pakistan: BJP leader

SRK row: BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya retracts tweets, cries foul

Shahrukh Khan a Pakistani agent, should go to Pak: Sadhvi Prachi

Politicians should stop talking rubbish about SRK: Anupam Kher

'Intolerance' claims aimed at distracting attention: Najma Heptulla

Slamming Vijayvargiya, Raut asked the BJP general secretary not to bring Pakistan into this debate on tolerance, saying that it is India's internal matter.

He said Shah Rukh is a superstar only because India is tolerant. "Shah Rukh Khan is a superstar only because the country is tolerant and has never thought in the name of religion," the Sena leader said.

However, Raut said Shah Rukh spoke quite late on the issue. "First of all Shah Rukh Khan should not have gotten into this debate on tolerance and secondly, out of the people who have returned their awards, the number of Muslims is almost negligible. Also, Shah Rukh spoke on the issue very late," he said.

Meanwhile, under fire for his remark against Shah Rukh, Vijayvargiya today withdrew his controversial tweets but asserted that had there been intolerance in India, Shah Rukh would not have been the most popular actor after Amitabh Bachchan. 

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