Sena slams 'double-faced' BJP over SRK, intolerance

Training its guns yet again on the Devendra Fadnavis government in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena on Friday attacked the chief minister for having a 'double-faced' policy saying Pakistan ghazal maestro Ghulam Ali was being warmly welcomed while Bollywood icon Shah Rukh Khan was being told to go to the hostile neighbour.

'On one side, the chief minister invites Ghulam Ali from Pakistan, saying they would provide full security to him and on the other, they order Shah Rukh Khan to go to Pakistan. This is double-faced politics,' the Shiv Sena said in its mouthpiece Saamna.

While the editorial criticised Shah Rukh for his 'outrageous advocacy', saying he often dips in 'whirlpool of controversies', it also strongly condemned the verbal attack on him. 'Targeting him because he is a Muslim and telling him to go to Pakistan is unfair,' it said.

'Hafiz Saeed and many like him are trying to create a divide between the Muslim community in India and strong steps should be taken to stop it. The politicians should not criticise Khan over the debate of intolerance,' the editorial said.

After Shah Rukh's comments on 'growing intolerance' in the country on his 50th birthday, senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Kailash Vijayvargiya had slammed the actor saying he 'lives in India but his soul is in Pakistan'. However, he retracted his statement later after facing flak.

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath also raised a furore after comparing Shah Rukh with 26/11 mastermind Hafiz Saeed, and said he is 'welcome' to go to Pakistan.