London: After reading Salman Khan’s tweets related to Tiger Memon and his brother Yakub Memon, most of us were reminded of the famous dialogue from his film 'Kick'- 'Dil mein aata hoon, samajh mein nahi.' Over the weekend, Salman found himself in the eye of storm, a controversy which he had asked for. Salman resorted to Twitter to vent out his thoughts, defending Yakub Memon, the death row convict of 1993 Mumbai blasts case.
A series of tweets posted by Salman drew severe flak from different quarters with members of BJP Yuva Morcha demanding cancellation of Salman’s bail in the 2002 hit-and-run case. Police protection outside the actor’s Galaxy apartment was increased on Sunday as the Khan family anticipated serious protests and threats. The 49-year-old actor tweeted that an ‘innocent’ is being hung for the crimes of his brother and the prime suspect in the 1993 bombings - Tiger Memon.
Much before his fans and the political leaders reacted, it was noted writer Salim Khan, Salman’s father who pulled him for posting tweets, which according to him were “meaningless.” It took no time for a large population that was busy celebrating Salman’s 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', to stand against him. Salman Khan trended as tweets poured in with hashtags #SalmanWithTerrorist and #SalmanBeingIgnorant making rounds.
As a perfect case of face palm, Salman removed the tweet and retracted his comments. But, the damage was already done since the message was loud and clear to his 1.31 crores Twitter followers of which 3,693 followers re-tweeted his message supporting Yakub Memon within no time.
The entire controversy pointed at the social responsibility that the celebrities owed while posting messages on social media. Certain mandatory rules of Twitter remain applicable to all those who enjoy posting their views in 140 characters more so for celebrities who have millions of followers.
Drunk in the success of 'Bajrangi Bhaijaan', Salman did not realize that the tweets, which he had posted hoping to get justice for Yakub Memon’s family, would backfire. Probably, he did not realize that the nature of his comments questioned the supreme justice system of the country. He also did not realize that the public tolerance have gone so low that a small comment can become a major controversy.
Twitter controversies have become call of the day, with several celebrities carelessly posting irresponsible messages and regretting later. These controversies die down in no time as the maximum punishment for damaging tweets would be to ‘get trolled’. But, not when the person in question is Salman Khan. Given the kind of fan following he enjoys, it is important for him to bear in mind that every word posted by him could be perceived as ‘God’s words’ by his fans.
Though Salman has retracted his tweets, the controversy is not likely to die down any time soon, as political leaders have made up their mind to raise this issue in the Parliament.
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