Manohar Parrikar defends his comments on Aamir Khan: 'Not against freedom of expression, but country is supreme'

Jabalpur (MP): A day after his apparent jibe  at Bollywood actor Aamir Khan in the context of the intolerance debate that caused a flutter, defence minister Manohar Parrikar said on Sunday that he did not target any specific person, but is against overall “unrest”. Parrikar also said that he was not opposed to “freedom of expression, but feels that country is supreme”. While addressing reporters in Pune on Saturday, the senior BJP leader had taken a veiled jibe at Khan who had  earlier expressed a “sense of alarm” over “growing intolerance in country”. [caption id=“attachment_2926506” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] File image of Manohar Parrikar. PTI[/caption] “One actor had said that his wife wants to live out of India. It was an arrogant statement. If I am poor and my house is small, but I have to love my house and always dream to make a bungalow out of it,” Parrikar had said. Addressing reporters a day later, the minister said, “I have not taken anybody’s name. I had said that people who don’t respect the country should be opposed. I am opposed to ‘upadrav’ (unrest). Such people should be opposed in a democratic manner. To oppose, seminars should be held.” Parrikar had said, “When the actor made the statement last year, people, while protesting his views, started uninstalling the online trading app, he was advertising for and the firm too pulled out the advertisement (involving the actor).” Also launching an oblique attack on JNUSU president Kanhaiya Kumar against the backdrop of alleged raising of anti-national slogans at Jawaharlal Nehru University earlier this year, Parrikar had said, “Such people who speak against the country need to be taught a lesson by the people of this country.” Meanwhile, responding to a query, Parrikar said, “I don’t say that nationalists are only in BJP. Non-political people and persons of different political parties could also be nationalists. Citizen of any other nation cannot comment against his country. So, people (speaking against the country) in India too should be opposed.” “Citizen of any other nation cannot comment against his country. So, people (speaking against the country) in India too should be opposed.” In November last year, the “PK” actor had joined the chorus of intelligentsia against growing intolerance, saying he has been “alarmed” by a number of incidences and his wife Kiran Rao even suggested that they should probably leave the country.