Chennai: Actor Rajinikanth on Wednesday defended his stand lauding Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Amit Shah as Lord Krishna and Arjuna on the Kashmir issue.
The Krishna-Arjun combination is credited with playing a key role in the Pandavas winning the Mahabharata battle against the Kauravas.
The praise was for the diplomatic way the two handled scrapping of Article 370 that gave special status for Jammu and Kashmir, he said.
"The way they handled the Kashmir issue, they handled it in a diplomatic fashion," said Rajinikanth, adding that he likened them to Krishna and Arjun to indicate that one came up with the plan and another executed it.
Rajinikanth said Kashmir is a big issue and related to the nation's security, adding the region has become a den for terrorists and extremists. "It is like a gateway of India for them to intrude into the country," he said.
Under such circumstances, in a diplomatic fashion, the Centre first imposed prohibitory orders, and then kept key leaders "like under house arrest."
Later, the Union government got the Bill first passed in Rajya Sabha where they do not have a majority and then went to the Lok Sabha. "This is a nice diplomatic act," he said.
Had this issue been debated ahead of the passing of the Bills that scrapped Article 370 and reorganised the State, separatist elements in Kashmir would have been alerted and they would not have allowed things to happen.
Reiterating that Kashmir was a key issue related to the nation's security, he apppealed to "some honourable politicians," to distinguish between issues that can be politicised and matters that cannot be.
Rajinikanth's earlier comments were criticised by AIMIM chief and Hyderabad MP Asaduddin Owaisi as well as the Tamil Nadu Congress.
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