Dabangg Salman Khan shoots himself in foot with controversial comments

Salman Khan's comments on the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks, whether scripted to make a splash along with the release of his movie ‘Dabangg’ or not, have clearly backfired, indicating that the actor has clearly overreached himself.

In an interview to Pakistani channel Express TV, Khan was reported as saying that the 26/ 11 attacks were widely publicized and noticed only because two major hotels in Mumbai were targeted and claimed the lives of rich and influential people.

The actor told the channel: “ Too much hype has been created around the 26/ 11 attacks because elite people were targetted. Attacks have happened in trains and small towns too, but no one talked about it so much.” He also said: “ Everybody knows that the Pakistani government was not behind it and it was a terrorist attack. Our security had failed. We have had lot of attacks earlier, and all of them were not from Pakistan.

They were from within.” The remarks provoked strong protests with political leaders saying they were “ unwarranted and irresponsible” Himself irresponsible” and made “ no sense”. “ The 26/ 11 attacks were a war against the nation. Salman should apologise for his remarks. Ambani was not staying at the CST, nor was Tata or Birla staying in Cama Lane,” Sena leader Sanjay Raut said referring to the firing at Chhatrapati Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Cama Lane, which were among the places targeted by terrorists.

The BJP pointed out that political parties had taken note of both terror attacks in 2008 and the Malegaon bomb blasts. They were not taking note of the attack because rich people might have died. Instead, it was about loss of lives. Abu Azmi, state president of Samajwadi Party, urged Salman to help the victims of terror attacks instead of making irrelevant statements. “ The attack first happened at the Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus, where common men and women were killed and injured. What sense does such a statement make?” questioned Azmi. In New Delhi, BJP spokesperson Syed Shahnawaz Hussain condemned Salman’s remarks and demanded an apology.

“ He has no right to give the ISI (Inter- Services Intelligence) and the Pakistani government a clean chit... The government has produced irrefutable evidence contained in dossiers, which have been handed over to Islamabad. He should immediately apologise,” Hussain said.

“ He is an actor. He has no idea whether the Pakistani government was involved or not. People travelling in taxis, constables, waiters, hotel workers, all lost their lives in the attacks,” said NCP leader Chaggan Bhujbal. Special Prosecutor in 26/ 11 trial Ujwal Nikam said that the statement was “ childish”.

Later in the day, driven on the back foot by the vitriolic outpouring, Khan apologised for his remarks and insisted that they were “ twisted” and he did not mean to “ hurt anybody’s sentiments”. “ The interview has been twisted. I saw it myself, the way it is coming across on TV: it is sounding insensitive. I was just saying life is same for both rich and poor, some attacks get more media coverage and some don’t. Why is that the case? Every human life is important,” Salman, 44, told Aaj Tak news channel. “ Any attack or terrorist attack in the world is unpardonable. A terrorist has no nationality, no religion and no guts. I have complete faith in our intelligence agencies.

I’ve always had faith in our police and armed forces. “ I did not want to hurt anybody’s sentiments and if I have hurt anybody’s sentiments then I am really, really sorry,” he added. He later tweeted that henceforth he would record all his interviews to prevent such controversies.

He also denounced all terror attacks. Salman’s friends felt he could have done without the controversy as his film “Dabangg” has already set the cash registers ringing. But, then, the star is incorrigible - controversy is his second nature.