My me is Khan: Shah Rukh in the eye of 'intolerance' storm

Ramdev joins the fray

Yoga guru Baba Ramdev on Wednesday asked the former to return the money earned after receiving the prestigious Padma Shri award to the Prime Minister's tiol Relief Fund.

"If he (Shah Rukh Khan) is a true patriot, he should return all the money he earned after winning the Padma Shri to the Prime Ministers' relief fund, in case he plans to return the award," he said.

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‘There is no difference in the language Shah Rukh Khan and Hafiz Saeed speak’

—BJP MP Yogi Adityath

‘If there was any kind of intolerance in the country, he wouldn't have been one of the top superstars in India. He should keep this fact in his mind that whatever statement he makes, it makes a big impact’

—Manoj Tiwari

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Lucknow, Nov 4: BJP MP Yogi Adityath on Wednesday compared Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan with Pakistani terrorist Hafiz Saeed after the actor said there was growing intolerance in India.

The hardline BJP leader said in Gorakhpur that both Shah Rukh Khan and Saeed -- the mastermind of the 2008 Mumbai terror attack -- speak the same language.

"There is no difference in the language Shah Rukh Khan and Saeed speak," said Adityath, who heads the Gorakhpur mutt in eastern Uttar Pradesh and is known for his radical views on issues related to Hinduism.

Adityath said if Hindus stopped seeing Shah Rukh Khan's movies, "he will be on the streets like an ordiry Muslim".

The MP's comment came a day after a BJP leader, Kailash Vijayvargiya, called Shah Rukh -- as the actor is widely known and who turned 50 on Monday -- a "deshdrohi" (traitor).

Vijayvargiya said on Wednesday that his comment had been "misconstrued".

Another Hindutva proponent, Sadhvi Prachi, dubbed the actor a "Pakistani agent".

Shah Rukh Khan had said earlier that there "is intolerance (in India), there is extreme intolerance ... there is growing intolerance".

Adityath said "so-called writers and artistes" had taken an anti-India stand by returning their tiol awards over alleged growing intolerance, and that Shah Rukh Khan had now added his voice to this group.

He said while he was all for a free debate on issues, no one had a right to hurt India's intertiol image. Those who did deserved to be boycotted, the saffron-robed MP said.

When he was told that Hafiz Saeed had invited Indians to come to Pakistan if they found intolerance in India difficult to cope with, Adityath said: "They can go (to Pakistan). We also want them to go."

Adityath has been representing Gorakhpur in the Lok Sabha for the BJP since 1998. Also head of the Hindu Yuva Vahini group, he has sparked many controversies with his hardline comments.

In June this year, he declared that those who oppose yoga can leave India.

Adityath's comments drew criticism from both the Shiv Se and veteran Bollywood actor Anupam Kher.

Shiv Se spokesman Sanjay Raut said: "Shah Rukh must not be targeted for being a Muslim. He has the same rights as we do."

Kher, a known BJP supporter, tweeted: "Some members of the BJP really need to control their tongue and stop talking rubbish about Shah Rukh. He is a tiol icon and we are proud of him."

But BJP MP and popular Bhojpuri singer-actor Manoj Tiwari said Shah Rukh Khan had always been close to the Congress and had made his statement amid the ongoing Bihar assembly elections.

Meanwhile, the Congress condemned BJP general secretary Kailash Vijayvargiya's remarks on Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan.

The party also condemned the "anti-tiol" tag given to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) by RSS mouthpiece "Panchjanya".

"Shah Rukh Khan expressed his concren and independent opinion as a citizen of the country. The general secretary of the BJP raised questions on his tiolity and doubted his patriotism. Whatever was said yesterday, the more we condemn it, less it is. What message are they giving to the people?" Congress spokesperson And Sharma told media persons.