Shah Rukh Khan had commented on the growing intolerance in India and stated that extremism was on the rise. ‘King’ Khan was also of the view that he would not hesitate in returning his Padma Shri award.
A BJP MP Adityanath had criticised Shah Rukh Khan’s comments and stated that he was like alleged terrorist Hafiz Saeed. Before this, another BJP leader had criticised Shah Rukh and stated that though he lived in India, his heart was in Pakistan. A Hindutva leader Sadhvi Prachi had gone further and called Shah Rukh Khan a ‘Pakistani agent’.
Following these remarks from rightist Hindu leaders, security outside the actor’s Mannat residence was beefed up.
“We have increased the security of the actor, who was already provided police security a few days back,” Deputy Commissioner of Police Satyanarayan Chaudhary said.
Police have started checking cars and motorcycles near to the residence of Khan, checking for papers and other formalities.
BJP had criticised the comments from their leaders and stated that there was no comparison between Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed. While one was a law abiding Indian citizen, he said the other was a terrorist.
Khan’s comments follow the recent spike in religious extremism in India, when a Muslim man was lynched when rumours spread that he had consumed beef. Pakistani ghazal singer Ghulam Ali was also stopped from performing at his concerts in Pune and Mumbai.
