Manoj Tiwari cries foul, says did not call Aamir 'traitor'

New Delhi: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP Manoj Tiwari on Saturday asserted that he did not call Bollywood actor Aamir Khan a 'traitor' despite what had been published in a few national dailies, and added that efforts were being made to tarnish his image.

"Whatever I said in the standing committee is secret. And if the talks of the committee are coming out in public, then it is illegal. I have never used the word 'traitor' for Aamir Khan. I can never say a word like that for him in my entire life," Tiwari told ANI.

"I would give a notice to the newspapers who have published this false news. I am a responsible citizen and I can never use a word like that. The newspapers are trying to tarnish my image by publishing false news," he added

He also asserted that the newspapers should apologise and should also mention the name of the source who gave them this 'false news'.

Earlier, two leading national dailies reported that the BJP MP had called Aamir Khan a 'traitor' at a Parliamentary Standing Committee meeting on Friday in which members sought an explanation from the Tourism Secretary for replacing actor Khan with Amitabh Bachchan as the brand ambassador of the 'Incredible India' campaign.

In their reports, the dailies quoted a source saying that Tiwari said, " Aamir Khan is a traitor, he should be thrown out."