"Attack on India's pluralism": Congress' Manickam Tagore slams 'traitor' remark against Shah Rukh Khan

New Delhi [India], January 2 (ANI): Congress MP Manickam Tagore strongly condemned the 'traitor' remarks made against Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan, calling the comments an "attack on India's pluralism" while saying that the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) should stop "poisoning society".
Taking to X, Tagore on Thursday said, "Calling Superstar Shah Rukh Khan a 'traitor' is an attack on India's pluralism. Hate cannot define nationalism. RSS must stop poisoning society."
This comes after Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Sangeet Som labelled Shah Rukh Khan a "traitor" over the inclusion of Bangladeshi cricketer Mustafizur Rahman in the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) squad.
Amid the mounting controversy over the selection of the Bangladeshi player, Som accused the actor of investing money in players from a country he claimed was "working against India".
"The way Hindus are being persecuted in Bangladesh, women and girls are being raped, their homes are being burned, and anti-India slogans are being chanted there. Despite all this, traitors like Shah Rukh Khan, I'm calling him a traitor because everything he has is given by India, given by the people of India, but where do they invest this money? They invest it in players from a country that is working against India," Som told ANI.
He further added, "I want to tell people like Shah Rukh Khan that they will not succeed. At any cost, they will not be able to get Mustafizur Rahman to play here. Rahman won't be able to step outside the airport."
Som said, "People like Shah Rukh Khan are traitors; they eat in India and sing praises of Pakistan and Bangladesh."
Meanwhile, Hindu spiritual leader Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya also targeted the actor.
"He (Shah Rukh Khan) is not a hero. Shah Rukh Khan does not have a character. His actions have been those of a traitor," Rambhadracharya said.
Spiritual leader Devkinandan Thakur also criticised the decision, citing alleged atrocities against Hindus in Bangladesh.
"In Bangladesh, Hindus are being brutally murdered, their homes are being burned, and their sisters and daughters are being raped. After witnessing such brutal killings, how can someone be so heartless, especially someone who calls himself the owner of a team? How can he be so cruel as to include a cricketer from that very country in his team?" Thakur said. (ANI)