Actor Siddharth, who famously starred alongside Aamir Khan in the blockbuster Rang De Basanti, has said that he never faced any threats or police complaints when he spoke against the government in 2009 under the Congress-led UPA government headed by Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. His note came hours after he attacked the Delhi Police for arresting activist Disha Ravi for allegedly sharing a ‘toolkit’ to be adopted for the farmers’ protest. The ‘toolkit’ was apparently inspired by climate activist Greta Thunberg.
Sharing one of his old speeches made at a business school, Siddharth wrote, “My speech at the Indian School of Business, 2009. This country used to have amnesia. Now its being brainwashed and gaslit by a new normal kind of evil. We are not those who changed their tunes in 2014. Stay true. Speak the truth.”
His subsequent tweet read, “I wonder why I never got a single complaint or threat then about the tone and nature of my speech? Nobody attacked me for having an opinion… For asking questions. India has changed. It changed in front of our eyes. Question is… what are we going to do about it?”
My speech at the Indian School of Business, 2009. This country used to have amnesia. Now its being brainwashed and gaslit by a new normal kind of evil.
We are not those who changed their tunes in 2014. Stay true. Speak the truth.
— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) February 17, 2021
Siddharth’s note came hours after he slammed the Delhi Police for arresting Disha Ravi in the Greta-toolkit case. He wrote, “If you want to go watch a movie with friends, you message all of them which movie, what time and where to assemble before heading there…. This is what may be called a #Toolkit. The ugly version of this is what IT cells do. Stop the bullshit. #ShameOnDelhiPolice.”
Siddharth said that it had become a fashion to defame anyone opposing the current ‘fascist government’ of India. “If protestors assemble in a church they are Christian mercenaries, if they eat biryani they are jihadis, if they wear turbans they are Khalistanis, if they organise themselves it’s a toolkit… But we cannot say anything about this FASCIST government,” the famous actor added.
If protestors assemble in a church they are Christian mercenaries, if they eat biryani they are jihadis, if they wear turbans they are Khalistanis, if they organise themselves it's a toolkit… But we cannot say anything about this FASCIST government….#SHAME
— Siddharth (@Actor_Siddharth) February 14, 2021
The Delhi Police have come under severe criticism after they travelled to Bengaluru to arrest a 21-year-old activist Disha Ravi. She was later produced before a local court, which sent her to five days of police custody. Many constitutional experts including former Supreme Court judge, Justice Deepak Gupta, have said that the content of the controversial ‘toolkit’ did not amount to a criminal offence.
