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| After Aamir Khan made his controversial remark on intolerance, he had become a pariah for the establishment. |
February 14, 2016, NewsCrunch
The dinner hosted by PM Modi for Make-In-India delegates in Mumbai on Saturday had a surprise guest: Bollywood actor Aamir Khan.
The dinner at the Turf Club had people from different walks of life besides government officials, bureaucrats and diplomats.
Though the guest list ran up to 800, the fact that Aamir Khan was included was a significant statement Modi was making especially to his party.
The actor also accepted the invite graciously and attended the dinner.
DNA reports that besides Aamir Khan, Kangana Raut was also among the Bollywood celebs, who had been invited.
After Aamir Khan made his controversial remark on intolerance, he became a pariah for the establishment. He had said that due to rising intolerance, his wife Kiran had thought of moving out of the country to raise their son Azad.
A backlash quickly followed and he was removed as brand ambassador for Incredible India. The storm was so severe e-commerce firm Snap Deal pulled out his advertisements and decided not to renew him as its brand ambassador.
Taking dig at Aamir Khan became a favourite past-time for BJP supporters.
Two weeks ago, Union Minister Venkiah Naidu said that he was personally hurt by Aamir Khan's remarks.
But Modi's invite to Aamir Khan, if true, is a strong signal for his party men to stop invoking the controversy.
Modi has stepped in the past as well to rein in his party men. After the Hyderabad University student Rohit Vemula committed suicide, Hyderabad BJP members and even senior party leaders had attacked him as an anti national.
They backed off only after Modi mourned Rohit Vemula's death as a loss to the country.