Intolerance issue: Aamir should have been more careful with his statement, says BJP

 New Delhi: BJP on Wednesday said Aamir Khan's making it clear on Wednesday that he is not leaving India "covers a wider issue" and wished the actor had been "more careful" about his earlier statement.

BJP spokesman JVL Narsimha Rao said "people of the country cutting across the entire spectrum felt offended by what Aamir Khan said a couple of days ago and the actor's statement today "covers a wider issue where he talks about about his love for the country."

On Monday, the actor had voiced concern over growing instances of "intolerance" and kicked up a huge political row with his remarks at a function in Delhi on Monday about his wife Kiran Rao expressing fear for their child in the current atmosphere.

Rao said "people of the country cutting across the entire spectrum felt offended by what Aamir Khan had said a couple of days ago.....I wish he was more careful about the statement."

"Today, the youth of this country are in a positive frame of mind and they expect their national icons in any sphere of life to echo such positive sentiments...Presenting their own country in a negative light...Certainly hurt the emotions of millions of people of this country," he added.

Bangladeshi writer Taslima Nasreen has said that India is "the safest place" for Bollywood star Aamir Khan and his family where he is loved and respected by Hindus and Muslims.

"I don't think India is an intolerant country. Some people in India are intolerant. You would not find any country which is 100 per cent tolerant. Some people in every country are intolerant....Both Hindus and Muslims love and respect him. I think that India is the safest place for Aamir Khan and his family," Nasreen said.

Filmmaker Ashok Pandit said "whatever clarification has come (from Aamir), not leaving the country and going is a different issue. I would ask Aamir Khan a question on the basic issue of tolerance and intolerance."

He said leaving the country and going is Aamir's personal likes and dislikes. "Any body can leave and go and nobody would stop you. If you are saying that there is intolerance then I would like to know the reasons for it," Pandit said.