Reiterating the demand for Bharat Ratna for his father, legendary playback singer Mohammed Rafi’s son Shahid Rafi on Monday said that his father did not get India’s highest civilian honour ‘probably’ because he was a Muslim.
Asserting that his father was a very secular person, Shahid said that the government should do something about awarding Bharat Ratna to the legendary singer.
“I have never said anything specifically about Modi Sahib. What I had said was about my father. He was a Bharat Ratna, he did not need one. But for his fans, yes, he should get. This is what he had said,” he said.
“My dad was a very secular person. He sang many bhajans. He was for every body… What I felt was that because he wasn’t getting Bharat Ratna, the government should do something. May be, because he was a Muslim, probably because of that he is not getting. That is what I meant,” he added.
He also rubbished media reports that had quoted him as saying that Muslims were feeling insecure under the current regime.
“I do not know how it was reported. I read it and it said that I said that “muslims takleef mein hain”. I did not use the word ‘takleef’. Secondly, I have not said anything about Modi Sahib and I haven’t said anything about JNU also. I don’t even know what the issue is,” he added.
Earlier, he claimed that the Muslim community felt insecure under Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Taj Literature festival on Friday, Shahid had reportedly said that the prevailing situation in the country is disturbing.
