JD-U blasts Sena, praises Shah Rukh

After the Bharatiya Janata Party, another National Democratic Alliance constituent Janata Dal - United on Friday targeted alliance partner Shiv Sena in its current face-off with Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan, saying the Sena's stand is 'completely wrong'.

"Shah Rukh Khan has said the right thing. What the Shiv Sena or Raj Thackeray are doing is completely wrong. The entire country is against it," senior JD-U leader and Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar said when asked to comment on NDA alliance partner Shiv Sena's threats against the actor.

The Shiv Sena has warned Khan to apologise for backing Pakistani cricketers at the IPL and remarking that Mumbai is for all Indians. The party stated that his films would be banned in the city if he doesn't offer an apology but the actor has refused to bow down to their demands. Shah Rukh has hit back at the Shiv Sena by saying that he would stand by his statements and that his take on the issue is very strong.

He added that he believes that he is an Indian and rejected the demand for an apology.

On February 1, BJP had joined the Sangh Parivar founthead Rashtriya Swayamsevak Singh to take on its key ally Shiv Sena head on, asserting that the party does not believe in any regional identity that 'discriminates' between Indians, in the backdrop of the Sena's opposition to the 'Mumbai is for all' stand.

"We respect as a ground reality that at a regional level there are tradition, heritage and language identities. But there is no conflict between regional and national identity. And so, we do not believe in any linguistic, religious or regional identity that discriminates or differentiates," BJP president Nitin Gadkari had said.