Anupam Kher: Don’t mind being called a ‘chamcha’ of PM

Well-known actor Anupam Kher — who is considered close to the BJP and whose wife is the BJP MP from Chandigarh — has said he does not mind being called a “chamcha” (stooge) of Prime Minister Narendra Modi who works day and night for the country and wondered why children cannot chant slogans in admiration of a Prime Minister.

“Why can’t our children chant slogans in admiration of our Prime Minister in schools As children, we used to chant slogans for Lal Bahadur Shastri in our schools. What is the problem Here is a man (Modi) who is constantly working day and night, who has enhanced our country’s image throughout the world. But they (critics) are trying to find loopholes in each aspect of his work and run him down,” he told a TV channel. Kher has backed the Government on the various controversies facing it including the intolerance debate.

On critics describing him as a Modi “chamcha” (stooge), Mr Kher said: “I am better off being called a chamcha of Narendra Modi, than a ‘balti’ of somebody else. They are using this word (chamcha) to put me on the defensive. I am a chamcha of thespian Dilip Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan too.” “If you use the word ‘chamcha’ for admiration, then it is perfectly alright with me, because after a long time we now have a Prime Minister who has brought emotions in me for my country, a man whose career graph is not a fluke, a man who did not enter politics as part of any legacy.”

On whether he wanted his wife to become a minister, the actor said “she deserves it and it will be good thing if she becomes one.”

Defending his outburst against retired Supreme Court Judge A.K. Ganguly at a conclave in Kolkata, he said: “Ganguly Saheb, with due respect to him, had questioned the manner in which Parliament attack convict Afzal Guru was hanged. I was angry because Afzal Guru was hanged after going through all the due processes of our judicial system, and this statement was coming from a former Supreme Court judge. I told him it was shameful.” He called Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi a “reluctant politician” and that politics was thrust on him.