Bollywood veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah lashed out on UP CM Yogi Adityanath and said,
“statements like Abba Jaan are beneath contempt.”
Shah’s remarks on the UP CM’s comments come just a day after CM Adityanath once again gave a controversial statement against Muslim community. CM Adityanath had recently attacked Muslim community when he said that prior to 2017, only people who used to say ‘Abba Jaan’ were taking away the ration. For the unversed, Abba Jaan is a term primarily used by Muslims to address one’s father.
Details
One of the most influential faces of the ruling saffron party is Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath. Known for his fiery speeches, CM Adityanath has also been part of the controversy for his remarks against minorities, especially Muslims. The 5-time Member of Parliament has faced cases of inciting violence, and yet, has come out of such issues unscathed.
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The Facts of the Matter
Recently, Yogi Adityanath once again polarized the Indian masses by making a remark on the Muslim communities. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister was addressing the public in Kushinagar. In his public address, CM Adityanath spoke about no appeasement politics under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
What the ‘Abba-Jaan’ Comment Was About
“Under PM Modi’s leadership, there is no place for appeasement politics… Before 2017 was everyone able to get ration? Only those who used to say ‘Abba Jaan’ were taking the ration,”
CM Adityanath said. The CM’s comments are remarkable as they are coming just before the 2022 Uttar Pradesh Assembly Elections.
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Naseeruddin Shah Gives his Two Cent
On September 14, Bollywood veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah in an interview with India Today condemned the UP CM’s comments. The ‘Masoom’ actor was speaking to India Today’s editor Rajdeep Sardesai. In the interview, Sardesai asked him what he would like to tell right-wing Hindu organizations who are of the opinion that more Muslims should condemn the ongoing Taliban crisis.
‘Absurd statements like love-jihad, narcotics-jihad…’
“More right-wing Hindus should speak up against the right-wing fanaticism in India. Where we have absurd statements like love-jihad and narcotics-jihad being made by a priest,”
the actor said. With ‘narcotics-jihad’, the actor was making a reference to a Kerala priest who had warned the youth of his community against Muslims in Kerala that convert Christian youth into Islam using drugs.
“CM’s Remarks Beneath Contempt, Not Worth Reacting To”
He further outrightly lashed out on UP CM Yogi Adityanath and said,
“All the ‘abba jaan’ statements made by the Chief Minister of UP, which is beneath contempt, which is not worth reacting to.”
Explaining the fact that not all Muslims call their fathers Abba Jaan, Naseeruddin Shah said,
“All Muslims do not call their father abba jaan. I called my father ‘baba’, and so did my Hindu wife call her father ‘baba’.”
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“He is What He Is, No Point in Reacting to Him”
“But this person (CM Adityanath) is what he is, and there’s no point even reacting to him. But the fact is that his abba jaan statement is a continuation of the hate he has been spewing all along”
, Shah added.
Shah had earlier sparked controversy when he called out certain sects of Muslim communities that celebrated the Taliban’s control over Afghanistan. Later, he gave an interview to the NDTV where he spoke about why the ‘Khans’ in the industry have chosen silence over prominent matters.
“The Khans Have Much To Lose”: Shah on Why Bollywood Actors Choose Silence
For the unversed, the Khans referred in his interview are presumably Salman Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Aamir Khan – the widely loved and lauded actors that bring home the most revenue.
“They (the Khans) are worried because of the harassment they face. They have so much to lose. It’s a question of their entire establishments getting harassed,”
he said as quoted in an NDTV report.
