Veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah has once again spoken on the ongoing controversy over the alleged NEET paper leak and police action against students protesting at Delhi’s Jantar Mantar. Days after sharing an emotional video condemning the action, the actor criticized Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s way of handling the issue during an interview with The Wire.
Naseeruddin Shah criticizes PM Narendra Modi over NEET protests, asks, “Has he accepted responsibility for any mistake?”
Naseeruddin Shah says he is “not surprised” by the government’s response
Asked how he viewed the Prime Minister’s response to what he described as one of the most serious issues of his tenure, Shah said he was not surprised. Shah said, “I am not surprised at all. When has he ever spoken honestly about anything? Has he ever accepted responsibility for any of his mistakes? Has he ever accepted the fact that he was probably wrong? No. He is divine and this so-called divinity of his has impressed all his followers.”
The actor questioned, referring to several statements made by the Prime Minister in the past which he termed as a lack of accountability. “It’s amazing to hear and see the magic he has shown. He talks about gutter gas to a group of scientists who applaud. He talks about Lord Ganesha’s head being the result of plastic surgery, Karna and the Kauravas being born through IVF, and being praised by the doctors. What is happening to us? Will no one ever question this guy?” He said.
Shah also criticized the Prime Minister for not holding press conferences and claimed that he avoids difficult questions. “He never talks to the press because he is scared. He will be asked about 2002. He will be asked about his 35 years of begging, meditating in the Himalayas and traveling abroad before entering politics,” he alleged.
Continuing his criticism, the veteran actor questioned the Prime Minister’s public messaging and actions. Shah said, “He tells us to save petrol and travel in SUV convoys. He tells us not to travel abroad and then sets out on foreign tours. It is difficult for me to take anything he says seriously.”
When the interviewer commented that, in his view, the Prime Minister appears to be “a fraud”, Shah responded, “Well, he is very close to being a fraud, but I think it is difficult to take anything he says seriously.”
Shah’s latest comments come soon after he shared an emotional Instagram video expressing anger over the police action against students protesting over the alleged NEET paper leak. In that video, he said he was “boiling with anger” after watching footage of security personnel using force on protesters and compared the masked officers to American ICE agents.
