Aamir Khan safe in India, his comments are insult to fans: BJP

Indian Minister of State for Minority Affairs says they won't let Aamir leave the country as he is safe

Dismissing Bollywood actor Aamir Khan’s concerns that it is not safe in India as “politically motivated”, India’s ruling Bharatiya Janata Party leader said on Tuesday the comments were an insult to those who honoured the actor.

"We won't let Aamir leave the country, he is safe. This kind of comment influenced by a politically motivated campaign insults those who have given so much honour to Aamir in India," said Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi, the Minister of State for Minority Affairs.



On Monday, Aamir Khan joined the debate on the growing intolerance in India and claimed he felt ‘alarmed’ by a number of incidents and that his wife, Kiran Rao, even suggested they should leave the country.

Further, reacting to Aamir’s statement, Kiren Rijiju, the junior home minister claimed that the number of deaths in communal incidents had come down since BJP came to power last year and “to make a blatant statement is not proper.”

However, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal belonging to the Aam Admi Party tweeted in support of the actor, saying, "BJP should stop silencing voices through abuses and threats. It's high time that Central government took concrete steps to instil sense of security amongst people."

BJP shud stop silencing voices thro abuses n threats. Its high time centrl govt took concrete steps 2 instil sense of security amngst people

— Arvind Kejriwal (@ArvindKejriwal) November 23, 2015

Incidences of communal violence have been growing in India, with a mob killing a Muslim man over beef-eating rumours in September. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, facing questions during his recent trip to Britain, said, "India is committed to protecting every citizen's freedom, and the law will deal severely with those who are intolerant."

Speaking at Ramnath Goenka Excellence in Journalism Awards, Aamir had said, “I have been alarmed. I can’t deny. I have been alarmed by a number of incidents."

“When I chat with Kiran at home, she says, ‘Should we move out of India?’ That’s a disastrous and a big statement for Kiran to make. She fears for her child. She fears about what the atmosphere around us will be. She feels scared to open the newspapers every day.



“There is this sense of growing disquiet. There is growing despondency apart from alarm. You feel why this is happening, you feel low. That sense does exist in me,” 50-year-old actor said, adding for any society, it was important to have a sense of security and sense of justice.

This article originally appeared on NDTV