Naseeruddin Shah questions the new Parliament inauguration ceremony: ‘Supreme leader wants to build a monument to himself’
Naseeruddin Shah has been very vocal about his opinions about the current administration and in a recent interview, when asked about the new Parliament inauguration, the actor said that the “supreme leader wants to build a monument to himself.” Shah was referring to Prime Minister Narendra Modi when he made the statement.
The actor told Bollywood Hungama, “This is the way he will be remembered.” Shah acknowledged that a new building was needed but questioned the ceremony that was held to inaugurate it. “The old Parliament was 100 years old so one understands that a new building was needed but was a ceremony like this needed? Where you are are introducing religious aspects into everything,” he said
Shah then spoke about “delusions of grandeur” and said that the country was “suffering because of that.” He said, “You come in surrounded by priests as if it is the King of England coming in surrounded by bishops, carrying a scepter. There’s got to be a limit to delusions of grandeur. And I think we are suffering because of that.” Shah said that the new building is “a symbol of our democracy” and added, “I hope it manages to preserve our democracy.”
In an earlier chat with indianexpress.com, Shah had spoken about “undisguised propaganda” and “Muslim hating” and said, “The kind of stuff that’s pure, undisguised propaganda is being lapped up and it’s a reflection of the zeitgeist of the times. Muslim hating is fashionable these days, even among educated people. It’s what the ruling party has very cleverly tapped into this nerve. We talk about secular this, democracy that, so why are you introducing religion into everything?”
He added, “It’s been a very clever card played by this government, and it has worked. Let’s see how long it continues to work.”
