New Delhi, January 8: Human Resource and Development (HRD) Minister Prakash Javadekar on Wednesday came in support of Deepika Padukone. The HRD Minister extended support to the Bollywood actor at a time when calls for boycotting her upcoming movie Chhapaak started to trend on Twitter for her visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) on January 7.  Speaking to reporters, Javadekar said that India is a democratic country and everybody has the right to go anywhere. Deepika Padukone's JNU Visit: BJP Leader Tajinder Singh Bagga Calls For Boycott of Chhapaak Actress' Films.

The HRD Minister stated, “This is a democratic country, anyone, any artist can go anywhere and put forth his or her view.” The union minister also added, “Why only artistes, any common man can go anywhere to express his opinion, there cannot be any objection.” When asked about the call by some BJP functionaries to boycott her upcoming movie, Javadekar said he had not read the remark. JNU Violence: Bollywood Celebrities Like Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao Condemn Attack on Students and Faculty Members.

Javadekar's Statement:

Moments after the Bollywood actor visited the JNU to show solidarity with the JNU students who were beaten by masked goons on Sunday evening, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) Delhi unit spokesperson Tajinder Bagga asked people to boycott movies of Padukone.

During her visit to the JNU, Padukone shared the stage with JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh and former student leader Kanhaiya Kumar. Meanwhile, after pictures and videos of the Bollywood actor meting JNU students surfaced on social media, several netizens also lauded her and called her an actor with a “spine”.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jan 08, 2020 04:07 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).