Deepika Padukone stood with destroyers of India: Smriti Irani on JNU row

Union Minister Smriti Irani said Deepika Padukone knew for a fact that she was choosing to stand with "people who wanted the destruction of India" when she visited Delhi's Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) this week to stand in solidarity with the students who were attacked by allegedly ABVP workers.

"I think that anybody who has read the news knew where they were going to stand. They knew that they're going to stand with people who wanted the destruction of India." the minister said referring to Padukone's gesture of standing in solidarity with the protesting students.

After Padukone went to the protest, various right-wing groups and some BJP leaders called for a boycott of Deepika Padukone's latest movie Chhapaak based on the live of real life acid attack survivor Laxmi Agarwal. In response to her public show of solidarity with students - many of whom were injured in a horrific attack carried out by masked goons on the night of January 5th.

Union Minister Prakash Javadekar later stated that Modi government and the BJP did not support the boycott campaign.

Deepika Padukone spoke about the violence at JNU and said she was angry. "I am very angry at what is happening but it is worse that no action is being taken," she said.

The right-wing ABVP, the RSS's student wing, is being widely blamed for the violence at JNU -- but it is pointing fingers at Left groups instead.