Naseeruddin Shah reacts to controversy around his statement; says 'What I said earlier was as a worried Indian'

Shah said: “What I said earlier was as a worried Indian. What did I say this time that I am being termed as a traitor?"

Actor-director Naseeruddin Shah. Photo: AFP (File)

New Delhi: In his first public reaction to the huge controversy created by his statement expressing fear for the life of his children in India, veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah defended his earlier stand and asked ‘how is that a crime’. In a brief media interaction, Shah said that he gave the statement as a concerned Indian and fails to understand why was he being termed as traitor. He asked the reporters since when has expressing concerns about one’s country, become a crime? Shah said: “What I said earlier was as a worried Indian. What did I say this time that I am being termed as a traitor? I am expressing concerns about the country I love, the country that is my home. How is that a crime?”

"I gave the statement as a concerned Indian. I fail to understand why am I being called a traitor. India is my country too": Naseeruddin Shah on his controversial statement LIVE: https://t.co/DklVA2kRqn STORY: https://t.co/D29CEFkIRY pic.twitter.com/rdLshzFSIb

— ABP News (@abpnewstv) December 21, 2018

A day ago, Shah was furiously trolled after he expressed anxiety over the well-being of his children Imaad and Vivaan with actor Ratna Pathak Shah. He said, “I feel anxious for my children because tomorrow if a mob surrounds them and asks, 'Are you a Hindu or a Muslim?' they will have no answer. It worries me that I don't see the situation improving anytime soon”. He said that they have not brought up their sons as followers of any particular religion. He also made an apparent reference to the recent Bulandshahr violence where he said that death of a cow is being given more importance than killing of a policeman. Shah’s statement fuelled a massive controversy, eliciting angry responses from several BJP leaders.  BJP said that Naseeruddin is a Congress agent and accused that the statement was issued keeping in view the upcoming 2019 LS elections. When Shah was asked to respond to BJP calling his statement a promotional stunt, he said that it was very obvious that they would react that way. Referring to his recent statement criticising Indian skipper Virat Kohli, he said: “the truth then is that one can also allege that it was the Australian team that asked me to speak out against Virat Kohli." He said ‘if others have the rights to criticise, so do I. This is my country - that I love and live in.’ Shah, in his Facebook criticism against Kohli, had also written that he has "no intention of leaving the country."