Assam chief minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday clarified the ‘Shri’ salutation for Shah Rukh Khan whom he did not know a day before, as he claimed, and said the ‘Shri’ reflects the dignity of his office. “I have not called anyone but it is the actor who called me and introduced himself. My assurance on law and order only reflects my constitutional duty. There is nothing to take dig at,” the Assam chief minister tweeted tagging a news report on the opposition’s reaction to Himanta Biswa Sarma’s swift transition from ‘who is SRK?’ to ‘Shri SRK’.
Pathaan, set to release on January 25 amid much fanfare and an equal share of controversy, is facing protests from Hindutva groups in several states, including Gujarat. Bajrang Dal activists in Gujarat threatened the release of the movie in the state theatres. In Guwahati, violent protests against Pathaan were witnessed recently. As the chief minister was asked to comment on the protest, he said he was not aware of Shah Rukh Khan or Pathaan.
“Khan has not called me, though many from Bollywood do so, regarding the problem. But if he does, I will look into the matter. Action will be taken if law and order have been violated and a case has been filed,” the chief minister said on Saturday.
The ‘shri’ in Himanta Biswa’s tweet hours after he said he did not know Shah Rukh Khan did not escape the opposition’s attention as many opposition leaders termed Himanta’s ‘volte face’ as a publicity stunt. “Our chief minister is in the habit of uttering such things. Just the other day he said he didn’t know our senior leader Jairam Ramesh whereas Sarma was a Congressman for decades. It could be a kind of publicity stunt to draw attention,” Congress’s Bobbeeta Sharma said, as reported by PTI.
Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP) general secretary Jagadish Bhuyan asked why the chief minister was waiting till 2am to pick up a call from someone whom he did not even know. Congress’s Pawan Khera wrote: “People who became Sanghis to form the government also have to become Congressmen to run the government on Raj Dharma.”
