Inter-religion marriage anti-national? Tharoor asks Sushma's husband

Congress MP Shashi Tharoor on Friday (January 24) slammed former Mizoram governor Swaraj Kaushal for his remarks on actor Naseeruddin Shah that he had married outside his religion. This comes after a spat between Shah and his colleague Anupam Kher.

In the backdrop of the ongoing protests against the citizenship law, Shah had, during an interview, called Kher a “clown”. Speaking about how the film industry was supporting the government, Shah had said Kher must not be taken seriously. “He is a clown. Any number of his contemporaries from NSD and FTII can testify to his sycophantic nature. It is in his blood,” Shah had said.

Slamming Shah over his remarks on Kher, Kaushal had called the former a “disillusioned man”. “This country gave you all the name, fame and money. Yet you are a disillusioned man. You married outside your religion. No one ever said a word. Your brother became Lt. General of the Indian Army. Have you not been given more than an equal opportunity. Yet you are unhappy (sic),” Kaushal said in a tweet.

Governor Sahib, is it now anti-national to marry outside your religion? Or to criticise @AnupamPKher? You are entitled to defend a friend, but surely not on the kinds of grounds listed in this unfortunate tweet. https://t.co/9rcls9V1jH

— Shashi Tharoor (@ShashiTharoor) January 23, 2020

Responding to Kaushal, husband of former union minister Sushma Swaraj, Tharoor asked whether it is “anti-national” to marry outside religion. “Governor Sahib, is it now anti-national to marry outside your religion? Or to criticise Anupam Kher? You are entitled to defend a friend, but surely not on the kinds of grounds listed in this unfortunate tweet,” Shashi Tharoor tweeted.

Naseeruddin Shah, 69, is married to actor Ratna Pathak Shah.

जनाब नसीरुदिन शाह साब के लिए मेरा प्यार भरा पैग़ाम!!! वो मुझसे बड़े है। उम्र में भी और तजुर्बे में भी। मै हमेशा से उनकी कला की इज़्ज़त करता आया हूँ और करता रहूँगा। पर कभी कभी कुछ बातों का दो टूक जवाब देना बहुत ज़रूरी होता। ये है मेरा जवाब। ? pic.twitter.com/M4vb8RjGjj

— Anupam Kher (@AnupamPKher) January 22, 2020

Kher too had responded to Shah’s criticism of him, saying he was in “great company”. “If you could criticise Dilip Kumar, Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Shah Rukh Khan or Virat Kohli, then I’m sure I’m in great company. And none of them has taken your statements seriously. Because we all know this is not you speaking,” Kher had said.

Also read | Sushma’s husband slams Naseeruddin over ‘clown’ remark at Anupam Kher

Also read | I’m not afraid, I’m angry: Naseeruddin Shah on citizenship law