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Salim Khan, a noted film scriptwriter, on Saturday clarified that his son's tweets in favour of Memon were meaningless. Salim Khan, however, said Salman is being targeted for his celebrity status. Watch Video
In an exclusive interview to India Today Group Consulting Editor Rajdeep Sardesai, Salim Khan said Salman should not have tweeted things about which he has little knowledge. "It was his foolishness. He said what all he must have heard," Salim Khan said. "Many people had opposed the court's verdict awarding death sentence to Yakub, but may be Salman's way of putting things was a bit childish. Salman's celeb status is being taken advantage of," he added.
Salim Khan minced no words while saying that last week's protest outside his Mumbai residence was orchestrated by Mumbai BJP president Ashish Shelar. "In this particular case, I can tell you that it was all done by BJP leader (Ashish Shelar). He (Shelar) had openly said that he will hit him (Salman) hard whenever he gets an opportunity," Salim Khan said.
Salim Khan agreed with the view that communalism was on the rise in the country and that some leaders are using the communal card for polishing their politics. "The feeling of communalism has increased a lot and unfortunately growing by the day. Both the communities have some leaders who are eating out of this," he said.
The famous writer, who penned the script of iconic Bollywood film Sholay along with Javed Akhtar, however, refused to call Prime Minister Narendra Modi communal. "As far as I see him, Narendra Modi is not a communal person. If you talk about Gujarat riots ... things were probably not under his control, he had just become the chief minister then," Salim Khan said.
"Religion has nothing to do with terrorism. Muslims must be told what true Islam is all about," Salim Khan said when asked for his views over terms like Hindu terrorism and Muslim terrorism.
Last week, Salman Khan courted controversy by advocating against the death penalty of 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon. The controversy forced the actor to issue a clarification later. Salman Khan took to Twitter again last Sunday evening to issue an apology, saying his tweets were not meant to hurt any religion. "I also strongly condemn those who are claiming my tweets are anti-religious. I have always said I respect all faiths and I always will," he said. "I would like to unconditionally apologise for any misunderstanding I may have created unintentionally," he added.
Salman's apology came after BJP workers staged a noisy protest outside his residence Galaxy Apartments in suburban Bandra and demanded that his bail in the 2002 hit-and-run case be cancelled. Protesters had also burnt the filmstar's effigy and and shouted slogans like "Salman does not have faith in judiciary".
Angry workers of Shiv Sena blackened posters of Salman's latest film Bajrangi Bhaijaan at Satara in western Maharashtra and also disrupted screening of the movie. There were also reports of the movie's screening being disrupted at Mahad in coastal Konkan.
Shiv Sena chief Uddhav Thackeray and Yoga Guru Baba Ramdev too had lashed out at Salman for his statement. Thackeray said one cannot question the judgment of Supreme Court. "Such tweets must be ignored for they deserve only that," he added. Special Public Prosecutor Ujjwal Nikam also criticised the actor saying he should withdraw his 'innocent man' tweet in favour of Yakub Memon.
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