MUMBAI: Congress MP and Chairman of the Parliamentary Standing Committee on External Affairs India, Shashi Tharoor has said that India should allow Pakistani youth and creative people to show their talent and participate in the cultural activities.
“We should welcome creative people, artistes and genuine businessmen (from Pakistan) to India,” said Tharoor while speaking at a debate on ‘India and Pakistan can never be friends’ during the Tata Literature Live Festival in Mumbai.
“We have to create a ‘home away from home’ situation for them,” he added, saying that hostility between the two countries “can be a mood but not a policy”.
Tharoor, while criticising the Maharashtra government for its handling of the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil controversy, said, “Certainly no Congress Chief Minister would have ever negotiated (with outfits like MNS).”
Indian extremist group Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) had earlier threatened against the film screening of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil that features Fawad Khan.
On the contrary, prominent filmmakers particularly Vikram Bhatt and Hansal Mehta had strongly condemned this stance and therefore, support Pakistani actors, actresses and singers.
Apropos to this, a statement quotes Vikram as saying: “We should concentrate on making sure that Pakistan is declared a terrorist state. That should be our effort. This (asking Pak actors to leave) is like trivializing the issue whether artists or cricket should be allowed or not. How does that matter? What matters is that people are dying, we have been constantly suffering. And the only thing we do is ban artists!”
On the other hand, Hansal took to twitter so as to utter his beliefs by saying: “MNS for next central govt. In one master stroke they have solved the India-Pakistan problem. After all it is artistes who provoke attacks.”
