Amid calls of Twitter ban, Siddharth clarifies his tweet to Saina Nehwal; she says 'used to like him as an actor'
Siddharth spoke about his response to Saina Nehwal's tweet on Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security lapse. Here's what he has said.
Actor Siddharth has issued a clarification on his reaction to shuttler Saina Nehwal's tweet after the lapse in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's security on January 5 in Punjab.
Taking to Twitter, Siddharth wrote on Monday, "'Cock and bull'. That's the reference. Reading otherwise is unfair and leading! Nothing disrespectful was intended, said or insinuated. Period."
Saina Nehwal, however, seems upset at his words. "I used to like him as an actor but this was not nice," she told Etv Bharat.
Reacting to PM Narendra Modi's return midway from Punjab, Saina Nehwal had tweeted, "No nation can claim itself to be safe if the security of its own PM gets compromised. I condemn, in the strongest words possible, the cowardly attack on PM Modi by anarchists. #BharatStandsWithModi #PMModi."
On January 6, Siddharth had responded to her tweet saying, "Subtle cock champion of the world... Thank God we have protectors of India. Shame on you #Rihanna." His reference to Rihanna was the singer's February 2021 tweet in support of the farmers' protests. On Twitter, she had written, “Why aren’t we talking about this?! #FarmersProtest."
On Monday, sharing Siddharth's tweet, National Commission for Women (NCW) chairperson Rekha Sharma tweeted, "This man needs a lesson or two. @TwitterIndia why this person's account still exists?..taking it up with concerned police."
NCW wrote, "@NCWIndia has taken cognisance. Chairperson @sharmarekha has written to @DGPMaharashtra for investigating & registering FIR in the matter. NCW has also written to @TwitterIndia for blocking the actor’s account & to take appropriate action against him for posting such remarks."
PM Modi was stuck on a flyover in Punjab for 15-20 minutes due to a blockade by some protesters and returned without attending an event at a martyrs' memorial at Ferozepur.
In a statement, the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) had said, "The Prime Minister’s schedule and travel plan was communicated well in advance to the Punjab Government. As per procedure, they have to make necessary arrangements for logistics, security as well as keep a contingency plan ready. Also in view of the contingency plan, the Punjab Government has to deploy additional security to secure any movement by road, which were clearly not deployed. After this security lapse, it was decided to head back to Bathinda Airport."