NEW DELHI: A firebrand leader of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) stirred the hornet’s nest with remarks she made on Sunday at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad event in Dehradun.

During her speech at the event, Sadhvi Prachi called for boycott of movies by the Khans of Bollywood as “their films are spreading a culture of violence” and advised youngsters not to idolise them.

She also backed RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat’s recent statement by accusing Nobel laureate Mother Teresa of proselytising in the name of religious services. “Mother Teresa indulged in conversion by luring people over to Christianity under the pretext of service,” she said.

Know more: India's parliament disrupted over Mother Teresa remarks

Mohan Bhagwat had made similar remarks while alleging that Christianity was the main objective behind Mother Teresa’s service to the poor.

Speaking at a programme of Vishwa Hindu Parishad on Sunday, Sadhvi Prachi, known for stoking controversies by her statements, said once she had been to a programme in Meerut where she asked a boy what he wanted to become in life.

“He said he wanted to become like Hritik Roshan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Aamir Khan. When I asked why, his mother told me because they are good at doing stunts,” she said.

Calling for a boycott of the Khan triumvirate’s films by right-wing Hindu outfits, she said: “I, for one, would ask the Bajrangis to tear the posters of films of Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan and Aamir Khan off the walls and burn them in the fire of Holi.”

By arrangement with Times of India

Published in Dawn March 3rd , 2015

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