In a move that is likely to upset those hailing the ouster
of Aamir Khan as Brand Ambassador of Incredible!ndia campaign, Mamata Banerjee
has announced her own Incredible Bengal Campaign and roped in Aamir as its face.
Noted writer and Sahitya Akademi award returnee, Nayantara
Sahgal welcomed the decision. ‘West Bengal has been at the forefront of
preserving the secular fabric of India, openheartedly welcoming our peaceful
neighbors all this while. The recent gathering of minority community in Malda
only reinforces our faith in the tolerance exhibited by the government of West
Bengal. And who better than Aamir to represent this face of Bengal.’
Journalist Barkha Dutt concurred with Sahgal. “Incredible
Bengal campaign was long overdue. In fact I never understood why they called it
Incredible India to begin with. It should have been Intolerant India,
Incredible Bengal in the first place”, she added.
Acclaiming her brave move to take the central government’s Incredible!ndia
campaign head on, the Delhi CM congratulated his West Bengal counterpart in a
series of tweets. ‘Mamata di, you are so brave and a hero.’, ‘Our brothers can express
themselves freely in Bengal. Ab desh ko bhi badalna hoga. #FeelingHopeful’, ‘West
Bengal is truly incredible under the leadership of Didi. #IncredibleBengal’.
West Bengal minister of tourism Bratya Bose was
understandably excited about the personal attention this new campaign was
getting from Didi, ‘Incredible Bengal is not just about Bengal, this will improve
India’s image in the international arena. We plan to run advertisements in all
leading Bangladeshi TV channels
highlighting the freedom of expression enjoyed by minorities in Bengal. This will sure boost tourism from our
neighboring country which had suffered a major decline since the arrival of an
intolerant government at the center. As a bonus it will bolster the Indian economy by bringing in excess cash which the Modi government is too inefficient to print.'
Actor Aamir Khan confirmed the news , ‘Ms. Banerjee called me
today morning and even offered that my family come and stay in Bengal. Kiran
was overwhelmed by her kind gesture. For the first time in eight months she
said she felt safe in this atmosphere, for herself and for our child.’
Shahrukh Khan who was himself a close contender for the job
tweeted. “Happy for @aamir_khan. Come cheer for KKR when you are here. #IncredibleBengal #EvenMoreIncredibleKKR #KorboLorboJeetboRe”. The tweet met with a cryptic reply “:o”.
Reacting to what inspired this all, the TMC spokesperson argued,
‘What Tiwari did was utterly stupid and repercussions are justified. I am not saying one should not ridicule. Look
how deftly Aamir did it in a secular fashion, getting rave reviews in the process. It’s a delicate art to
choose the subject of your ridicule. And Aamir proved with his last bollywood
outing why he is one of the finest artists in India.’
Another ace filmmaker who also happens to be a messenger of God
refused to comment on Tiwari’s arrest for blasphemy when approached by our correspondent
Bittoo Sharma. ‘He raised his hand and I thought he will bless me but then he
said - Sharma ji, you can talk to my hand’, Bittoo reported.
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