Actor-entrepreneur Suniel Shetty continues to face intense on-line criticism two days after his remarks about Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his 15-month-old granddaughter, Evaarah, sparked a social media storm.
In a current interview, Shetty shared that his granddaughter, the daughter of actor Athiya Shetty and cricketer KL Rahul, recognises Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s {photograph} in a Sai Baba e-book and provides him a laddoo each morning.
“My granddaughter is simply 15 months previous. Each morning she opens a Sai Baba e-book that has a photograph of Modi ji. She factors at it, says ‘Modi ji’ and even provides him a laddoo. I by no means requested her to try this. There’s something about him, one thing magical,” the actor mentioned.
The clip shortly went viral, drawing sharp reactions on-line. Whereas some customers appreciated Shetty’s admiration for the Prime Minister, many accused him of extreme reward. Others questioned why a toddler had change into a part of a political narrative.
The controversy escalated after the Kerala unit of the Congress shared the video on X, calling it “Padma-grade sycophancy” and implying that the actor was looking for a civilian honour.
The publish triggered a flood of reactions. One consumer commented, “KL Rahul will probably be included within the squad, Athiya Shetty will get extra motion pictures, and Suniel Shetty will get an award from the Centre.”
One other wrote, “It’s shameful to see celebrities appearing as mouthpieces for the BJP. @klrahul, give your baby a greater training as an alternative of instructing her to deal with Modi as a god.”
A 3rd consumer mocked the actor, saying, “If that is the Modi magic, then a 15-month-old providing sweets to his {photograph} has turned a third-rate actor right into a first-rate flatterer.”
As criticism mounted, BJP Nationwide Spokesperson Pradeep Bhandari got here out in Shetty’s defence. In a publish on X on Sunday, he accused the Congress of hypocrisy, saying the celebration was concentrating on the actor merely for expressing his granddaughter’s admiration for Prime Minister Modi.
Bhandari additionally identified that Shetty had beforehand been honoured by the Mumbai Youth Congress with the Rajiv Gandhi Award in 2005, arguing that the actor was acceptable to the Congress then however was now being criticised due to his remarks concerning the Prime Minister.
“Congress solely desires Indians to be servile to Parivar. Congress doesn’t consider in democracy; Emergency is within the DNA of Congress,” Bhandari wrote.
Even two days after the interview surfaced, the talk continues to rage on-line, with Shetty remaining on the centre of the controversy. Amid the political sparring, a number of social media customers have additionally objected to a 15-month-old baby being dragged into the row, arguing that the trolling of a toddler is unwarranted no matter political variations.
