Indian poet Kumar Vishwas found himself at the receiving end of severe backlash after he took a veiled dig at actress Sonakshi Sinha’s inter-faith marriage with actor Zaheer Iqbal. During an event in Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, on Sunday, Vishwas stated that parents should teach their children Ramayana or else someone else would “take away the Lakshmi” of their home.
A video of his speech has now gone viral in which Vishwas can be seen taking potshots at Sonakshi’s marriage as well as her father, Shatrughan Sinha. “Teach your children the names of Lord Ram’s brother and Goddess Sita’s sisters. Teach them Ramayan and Bhagawad Gita. Otherwise, even though your house is named Ramayan, someone else might take away the Shri Lakshmi of your household,” he said.
For those unversed, Shatrughan Sinha’s Mumbai residence is named Ramayan.
Kumar Vishwas receives backlash
As soon as the video went viral, Vishwas was slammed for his comments about someone else’s personal life and upbringing. Congress spokesperson Supriya Shrinate even went on to call his statement “derogatory”.
“If you had a daughter in your own home, would you have made such lewd comments about someone else’s daughter just to earn cheap applause? It’s quite clear how low you have stooped in doing so. You not only made a nasty remark about Sonakshi Sinha’s interfaith marriage, but you also revealed your true thoughts about women,” she wrote on X.
“Neither Shatrughan Sinha ji nor his successful daughter Sonakshi need your certificate. However, your comment about a girl 17 years younger than you certainly exposes your small-minded thinking,” she added.
“You may have received two minutes of cheap applause, but your stature has only sunk further. You should realise your mistake and apologise to both a father and his daughter,” she said.
Sonakshi Sinha, Zaheer Iqbal’s wedding
Sonakshi and Zaheer got married in an intimate ceremony on June 23, 2024, after dating for seven years. Their wedding was attended by Shatrughan Sinha and Poonam Sinha, however, the actress’ brothers, Luv and Kussh gave the wedding a miss.
While there were rumours of rift in the family due to Sonakshi’s decision of marrying a person outside her religion, Shatrughan recently clarified that her brothers were “pained” and thus, did not attend her wedding.
“They are only humans. They maybe still not be so mature. I do understand their pain and confusion. There is always a cultural reaction,” he said.
