Remarks on SRK show rise in 'intolerance': Congress leader Rashid Alvi

New Delhi: Congress leader Rashid Alvi on Thursday dubbed the recent remarks by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders on Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan as 'unfortunate', saying such remarks exemplify the rising intolerance in the country.

'What Shah Rukh has said is same as what the President has said, it is same as what businessman (Narayana) Murthy has said and it is same as what RBI Governor has said. Such remarks (against Shah Rukh Khan) are unfortunate. When people say that intolerance is increasing in the nation then it is due to such statements,' Alvi told ANI.

Reacting to yoga guru Baba Ramdev's remark that Shah Rukh should return the money earned after receiving the prestigious Padma Shri award, Alvi said, 'Baba Ramdev has no right to tell anyone whether to return awards or not. The thing is that people of a particular mindset have come together.They are going to ruin the nation. Baba Ramdev is one of them.'

Shah Rukh Khan

BJP leader Kailash Vijayvargiya on Tuesday had attacked the Bollywood superstar over his 'extreme intolerance' comment, saying his 'soul is in Pakistan though he lives in India' and also painted him as an 'anti-national'. However, the senior BJP leader retracted his tweets on the ace actor, saying he was misconstrued.

BJP MP Yogi Adityanath later compared the actor to 26/11 Mumbai terror attack mastermind Hafiz Saeed. Khan had joined the debate swirling around 'intolerance' on his 50th birthday, when he told a leading news channel that there was 'nothing worse than religious intolerance and that it would take India to the Dark Ages'.