Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh leader Indresh Kumar on Monday called actors Naseeruddin Shah and Aamir Khan, and cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu traitors, ANI reported.
“They may be good actors but they don’t deserve respect as they are traitors,” Kumar said at a public event in Aligarh. “They are like Mir Jafar and Jaichand,” he said. Mir Jafar was the first Najafi Nawab of Bengal, whose rule was widely considered to be the beginning of British imperialism, and Jaichand was a king of the Gahadavala dynasty, who is remembered as a symbol of treachery in folklore.
Shah had previously been targetted by Hindutva groups after the actor said that in India the death of a cow was given more importance than that of a police officer. The remark was in reference to the violence in Bulandshahr district of Uttar Pradesh on December 3, in which a police inspector was killed following the discovery of cattle carcasses in a field.
Kumar said India needs Muslims like former President APJ Abdul Kalam and not like Ajmal Kasab, a Lashkar-e-Taiba militant who was caught alive after the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks.
“India doesn’t need Muslim youth like Kasab, Yakub, and Ishrat Jahan but rather those who walk on the path shown by Kalam,” NDTV quoted Kumar as saying. “Those who walk on the path of Kasab will be considered only as traitors.”
Ishrat Jahan and three others were killed in June 2004 in an alleged encounter with security forces on the outskirts of Ahmedabad. The Gujarat Police had claimed that the four had links with terrorist groups and were conspiring to kill Narendra Modi.
Kumar also alleged that the Congress and Left parties, communal forces, and a few judges were responsible for the delay in the hearing of the Ayodhya land dispute. “I appeal to the saints and sadhus to sit on dharna outside the Congress office, offices of the Left parties and outside the house of judges who are delaying the matter,” he said.
The Centre on Monday moved the Supreme Court seeking permission to return all excess acquired land at the site to the Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!