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Shah Rukh Khan row: BJP leader pulls tweet amid uproar - BBC News
A senior politician from India's ruling party has retracted messages he tweeted about Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
Kailash Vijayvargiya said his suggestion that Khan's "soul is in Pakistan" had been misconstrued.
Mr Vijayvargiya's tweet came after the actor spoke out against "extreme intolerance" in India.
Dozens of Indian writers, scientists, historians and filmmakers have returned awards to protest against what they say is growing intolerance in the country.
Mr Vijayvargiya had said that although "Shah Rukh lives in India, his soul is in Pakistan".
Many Indians took to social media to condemn the politician, who is a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Image copyrightTwitter
Image copyrightTwitter
Image copyrightTwitter
Khan is the latest high profile figure to express serious concerns about "intolerance" in India, which have been fuelled by the killing in recent months of rationalists MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare, as well as the lynching of a man suspected of eating beef.
The government denies intolerance is on the rise and has called upon party members not to make "controversial" statements.
But even as Mr Vijayvargiya retracted his tweet, another influential BJP regional leader criticised the actor on Wednesday.
Yogi Adityanath said there was no difference between the actor and the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group Hafiz Saeed, who India and the US accuse of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Hafiz Saeed had earlier tweeted in response to the row over Khan's statement, by telling the actor that he would be welcome in Pakistan.
A senior politician from India's ruling party has retracted messages he tweeted about Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan.
Kailash Vijayvargiya said his suggestion that Khan's "soul is in Pakistan" had been misconstrued.
Mr Vijayvargiya's tweet came after the actor spoke out against "extreme intolerance" in India.
Dozens of Indian writers, scientists, historians and filmmakers have returned awards to protest against what they say is growing intolerance in the country.
Mr Vijayvargiya had said that although "Shah Rukh lives in India, his soul is in Pakistan".
Many Indians took to social media to condemn the politician, who is a senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member in the state of Madhya Pradesh.
Khan is the latest high profile figure to express serious concerns about "intolerance" in India, which have been fuelled by the killing in recent months of rationalists MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare, as well as the lynching of a man suspected of eating beef.
The government denies intolerance is on the rise and has called upon party members not to make "controversial" statements.
But even as Mr Vijayvargiya retracted his tweet, another influential BJP regional leader criticised the actor on Wednesday.
Yogi Adityanath said there was no difference between the actor and the founder of the banned Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT) militant group Hafiz Saeed, who India and the US accuse of masterminding the 2008 Mumbai attacks.
Hafiz Saeed had earlier tweeted in response to the row over Khan's statement, by telling the actor that he would be welcome in Pakistan.
