THE DAY after a 45-year-old man died after suffering a heart attack at the Vadodara railway station during a promotional event for the Shah Rukh Khan-starrer ‘Raees’, BJP national general secretary targeted the Bollywood superstar Tuesday, saying that “even if Dawood appears in public, crowd will come out”. Western Railway has ordered a probe into the death at the station, where an estimated 15,000 people turned up to see the actor at around 10.30 pm Monday. Khan, who reached New Delhi by rail Tuesday, said he was “pained” by the death of the man, who has been identified as Farid Khan Pathan, a local SP politician and relative of a journalist travelling with the actor’s entourage. WATCH VIDEO | SRK’s Raees Turns Deadly! 1Fan Dead, Another Injured As Police Baton Charges Overwhelmed Crowd Hitting out at the promoters of the film and the actor, Vijayvargiya said, “The promoters should at least take care of public convenience. If they promote films in Railways, the common people will suffer. Even if Dawood appears in public, crowd will come out. So we cannot gauge the popularity (of the star), at least on the basis of crowds.” Vijayvargiya also took to Twitter to post an image of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi wearing a torn kurta, with a slogan that compared ‘Raees’ to Hrithik Roshan-starrer ‘Kaabil’. “Kaabil ho toh chaiwallah bhi pradhan mantri ban sakta hai. Varna chandi ka chammach muh mein lekar paida hua Raees bhi fate kurta pehenta hai (If you are capable, even a tea-seller can become the prime minister. Otherwise, even a rich man born with a silver spoon in his mouth will have to wear a torn kurta),” the slogan read. Above the slogan was a tweet that seemed to refer to the Congress leader’s foreign roots: “Aur hamare Bharat ke kaabil kisi bhi pardes ke Raees se har haal mein behtar hai (And those capable in Bharat are better than a rich man from abroad, under any circumstance).” On Saturday, Vijayvargiya had tweeted a similar slogan, referencing the two movies: “Pradhan mantri Modiji ne note-bandi-kar, kaale dhanwaale raeeson ko zameen par la diya. Ab baari desh ki kaabil janta ki hai, jo kaabil hai uska haq koi beimaan raees na cheen paaye (Prime Minister Modi’s note-ban has brought rich people with black money down to earth. Now it’s the turn of capable people to ensure that their rights are not snatched by the dishonest rich).” WATCH VIDEO | Shah Rukh Khan In His Gangster Avatar Has The Audience Charmed Asked about the tweets, BJP spokesperson Shania NC described them as “word play” and said that Shah Rukh could not be blamed for the death. However, BJP MP Manoj Tiwari appeared to be backing Vijayvargiya by saying that his tweets were “often misinterpreted”. Shah Rukh, meanwhile, described the death as “extremely unfortunate”. “My prayers are with his family. We felt bad as our team was going with us and everyone was happy during the entire journey. I hope his soul rests in peace and his family remains well,” he said. Two policemen were also injured in the rush at Vadodara on Monday. Western Railway’s SP (Vadodara Division), Sharad Singhal said, “When police was trying to control the crowd from running behind the moving train, 45-year-old Farid Khan Pathan fell unconscious and subsequently died in the hospital. Two of our police constables were also injured in the chaos.” Confirming that a Deputy SP-rank officer would probe the incident, Singhal said, “I have ordered an inquiry into the entire incident to find out whether the organisers had taken any permission for such event or not. If yes, then who gave them the permission and how such as a large number of people were allowed to gather at the station.” Shah Rukh was on his way from Mumbai to Delhi as part of the ‘Raees by Rail’ promotional campaign. Among others, cricketers Irfan Pathan and Yusuf Pathan were at the station to meet the actor. The movie is slated for release Friday.
