As reported in Jagran, author Balendu Dwivedi, reacting actor Naseeruddin Shah’s ‘rising intolerance‘ remarks, said that he does not agree with Naseeruddin’s statements. He said that if there was an environment of fear in the country why would Bangladeshi author Taslima Nasreen choose to live in India of all the countries in the world.
“I am not aware of the context in which Naseeruddin Shah, who is one of the best actors, made the statements about the atmosphere of fear in the country. But I keep travelling across the country for various programmes. And based on my experience I can claim that there is no atmosphere of fear among the people. Therefore, it is not possible for me to agree with Naseer Saheb’s statement,” he said.
While speaking at Indore Literature Festival Dwivedi said, “India is the only country which provides complete freedom to intellectuals. Otherwise, why would Taslima Nasreen choose to live in India of all the world”.
Naseeruddin Shah had recently stirred controversy when in a TV interview in reference to the Bulandsheher incident he said that the death of a cow was being given more importance than the death of a police officer. He had later clarified that he made the statements as a ‘worried Indian’. “I have said this before too, but I don’t know why this time I am being labelled as a traitor. It is very strange”, he had said.
