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For Muslims, no country better than India, no neighbour better than a Hindu: BJP on Aamir
Attacking actor Aamir Khan for his remarks on intolerance, the BJP on Tuesday said no country in the world is better than the "incredible and 'atulya' (unmatched)" India for Muslims and no neighbour better than a Hindu.
"Don't forget India made you a star," the BJP's Muslim face, Shahnawaz Hussain, told reporters in New Delhi. "Aamir Khan will not find a better country than India. We are the only country that does not look at an artist's religion," he said.
"If you leave India, you will only find intolerance anywhere you go," Hussain added.
On Rahul Gandhi's support to Aamir, the BJP leader said, "The Congress, which should have invited the Sikhs to talk instead of killing them in 1984 and which has organised hundreds of riots in the country, should not teach India tolerance."
"The Congress is unable to tolerate a popular prime minister and an elected government," he said as he accused the Sonia Gandhi-led party of orchestrating the Aamir Khan controversy.
On Monday, Aamir, joining the growing chorus of the intelligentsia against intolerance, had said, "When I chat with Kiran (Rao, his wife) at home, she says, 'Should we move out of India?' That's a disastrous and big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day. That does indicate that there is this sense of growing disquiet, there is growing despondency apart from alarm."
Aamir had made the statement during an interaction at the Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards ceremony, which was also attended by senior Union minister Arun Jaitley.
As the remarks became another contentious episode in the intolerance row, Rahul Gandhi tweeted, "Instead of branding all those who question the Govt & Modiji- as unpatriotic, anti national or 'motivated', the Govt would do better to reach out to people to understand what's disturbing them. That's the way to solve problems in India- not by bullying, threatening & abusing!"
"What Aamir Khan, one of the most respected actors, has said in the presence of many senior BJP people is what the whole world is saying, all of India is saying, all right- minded people are saying," Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said.
But the government reacted strongly, saying Aamir's remark "tarnishes the image" of India. "All this debate is misplaced. There are issues which society as a whole needs to come together and address. But to just make a blatant statement that during the NDA rule, the country has become intolerant unnecessarily tarnishes the image of the nation," Union minister Kiren Rijiju said.
Rijiju added that records show that the number of communal violence incidents have come down since the National Democratic Alliance government came to power in May last year.