Mumbai: Aamir Khan’s third marriage has triggered political backlash as a second Maharashtra minister criticised the actor.
Days after BJP’s Nitesh Rane spoke out against Aamir, Shiv Sena (Shinde) leader Sanjay Shirsat calling the actor the ‘brand ambassador of love jihad’ while questioning the impact of his personal choices on the public.
The controversy follows Aamir’s third marriage to wellness and beauty professional Gauri Spratt in a private ceremony at his Pali Hill residence in Mumbai on July 5.
Speaking to reporters, Shirsat said celebrities have a strong influence on society and questioned the message repeated marriages by public figures send to their fans.
“Nitesh Rane is correct to an extent. When people follow you as an actor, they think you are a big star,” Shirsat was quoted as saying by PTI.
“If this star does such work and gets married not once, twice, but thrice, what will people learn from him? He can be a brand ambassador of love jihad, but he cannot live in the hearts of common people,” said Shirsat.
BJP leader Rane had earlier urged Hindu society to take note of the personal choices of influential public figures and questioned whether Aamir’s marriage could be linked to ‘love jihad’, a term used by some right-wing groups to allege that Muslim men enter relationships with women of other faiths with the intent of converting them.
