SALMAN IS AN EASY TARGET, SAYS SALIM
Actor’s father says m much ado was made around his ‘childish’ tweet on Yakub even after Salman apologised at his behest
Afew days after Bollywood actor Salman Khan got into a controversy by opposing the death penalty for 1993 Mumbai serial blasts convict Yakub Memon, his father, veteran writer Salim Khan, says that the actor is being targeted because of his celebrity status and those raising a hue and cry over it may be doing it for publicity.
Salim makes his point saying his son was not the only person who had held such a stance on the matter. “These things have been said by many people. Salman was not the only one. Probably his way of putting it was a little childish, and meaningless. The first person to condemn it was me. Lots of people like Naseeruddin Shah, Shatrughan Sinha, (Justice) Markandey Katju have said the same thing,” Salim told a news channel.
“You get more publicity when you attach Salman (with a controversy) because he is a big star,” he added.
Salman, 49, who is out on bail after being sentenced to five years in jail in the 2002 hit-and-run case in May, tweeted on July 25 that Yakub, who was hanged in Nagpur jail on Thursday, should not have been punished for his brother Tiger Memon’s crime. “Get tiger hang him. Parade him not his brother... Kidhar chupa hai tiger? Hey koi tiger nahi hai billi aur hum ek billi ko nahi pakad sakteh (sic),” Salman had tweeted. The reaction to the tweets led authorities to deploy around 50 policemen outside his residence in Bandra in fear of possible violence.
However, the very next day (July 26), Salman apologised for what he said. Sallu posted on Twitter that his father wanted him to retract his tweets “as they have the potential to create misunderstanding”. And he promptly deleted the earlier tweets.
Yakub Memon was involved in the 1993 blasts that left 257 people dead and over 700 injured in what was then the world’s worst urban terror attack.
Lots of people, like Naseeruddin Shah and Shatrughan Sinha, have said the same thing Salim Khan, writer and Salman’s father
Hrithik and Sonam spoke about the retail industry, and exchanged notes on how to build a strong brand A source