Former member of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly, Sangeet Som, argued that Khan buying a Bangladeshi player made him a “traitor”, as per media reports. PTI
BJP leader calls SRK 'traitor' for buying Bangladeshi player for KKR
The senior BJP leader said they will not allow Mustafizur Rahman to step out of the airport
Senior BJP leader from Uttar Pradesh, Sangeet Som, slammed Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan after his Indian Premier League (IPL) team - the Kolkata Knight Riders (KKR) - acquired a Bangladeshi fast bowler, Mustafizur Rahman.
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Former member of the Uttar Pradesh legislative assembly, Som, argued that Khan buying a Bangladeshi player made him a “traitor”, amid the rising atrocities occurring in Bangladesh against Hindus and other minorities.
Point of contention
At a public event in Meerut, Som said, "On one hand, Hindus are being killed in Bangladesh, and on the other hand, cricketers are being bought in the IPL. The traitorous film actor Shah Rukh Khan has bought Bangladeshi cricketer Rahman for Rs 9 crore. Such traitors have no right to live in this country."
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"The people of this country have helped you to reach this position. If you get money, you get it from this country. But you have betrayed the country," he said.
The senior BJP leader also warned that Rahman and players like him who were acquired during the IPL Players' Auction on December 16, will "not be able to step out of the airport" if they were to come to India.
Communal angles
According to an NDTV report, spiritual guru Devkinandan Thakur also slammed the Bollywood star for having Rahman in KKR, and told the team’s management to not let him play on the team.
He reportedly said, “Devotees of Sanatan and Hindus, who made the KKR owner a star, see that the owner, without considering that Hindus in Bangladesh are being killed and burnt alive and girls are being assaulted, still includes Bangladeshi players in his team in India.”
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This row and bitter exchange of words comes amid the tense ties between India and Bangladesh worsening after a Hindu man, Dipu Chandra Das, was lynched and set on fire over alleged blasphemy in Mymensingh, just last month.
Opposition pushback
Mata Prasad Pandey, Leader of Opposition in Uttar Pradesh Assembly, slammed Som for his remarks, and targeted the BJP. Apart from him, Congress leader Surender Rajput also slammed the BJP and called it a "traitor" party, and told NDTV, “They are attacking Shah Rukh Khan just because he is a Muslim.”
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It wasn’t just the opposition that chastised Som, but also a BJP ally and Uttar Pradesh minister Om Prakash Rajbhar, who reportedly said Som keeps making such statements "to stay in the limelight".