New Delhi: Bollywood star Shah Rukh Khan has dismissed as “unfounded” any suggestion that he played a role in the release of eight former Indian Navy officers from Qatar Monday.
Khan’s office was reacting to a tweet from economist and BJP member Subramanian Swamy, a former Union minister, claiming that the actor had intervened in the negotiations to free the men who were allegedly arrested for espionage.
In a reply to Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s post on X about his visits to the UAE and Qatar, Swamy said the PM should have taken Khan with him as he had “pleaded with the actor to intervene” after the Ministry of External Affairs and the national security adviser “had failed to persuade the Sheikhs of Qatar”.
“(He) thus got an expensive settlement from the Qatar Sheikhs to free our Naval officers,” Swamy wrote.
Over the next two days, I will be visiting UAE and Qatar to attend various programmes, which will deepen India's bilateral relations with these nations.
My visit to UAE will be my seventh since assuming office, indicating the priority we attach to strong India-UAE friendship. I…
— Narendra Modi (@narendramodi) February 13, 2024
Swamy’s post didn’t mention what “expensive settlement” he was talking about.
In reply, Khan’s office said: “Regarding the reports concerning Shah Rukh Khan’s purported role in the release of India’s naval officers from Qatar, the office of Mr Shah Rukh Khan says that any such assertions of his involvement are unfounded, exercising that the execution of this successful resolution solely rests with the Indian government officials and unequivocally denies Mr Khan’s participation in this matter.”
The statement added that all matters involving diplomacy and statecraft “are best executed by our very able leaders”. “Mr Khan like many other Indians is happy that the naval officers are home safe and wishes them all the best,” it said.
The former Naval officers were detained by Qatari authorities in August 2022 on alleged espionage charges — though the exact charge has never been announced by either India or Qatar.
Last October, a Qatari court sentenced them to death, but two months later, the sentences were commuted to life for some and more reduced terms for others.
They were, however, freed in the early hours of Monday after a full pardon by Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the Emir of Qatar.
Their release came close on the heels of India’s Petronet renewing, for 20 years, a contract to buy 7.5 million tonnes of LNG from Qatar annually. It is billed as the largest-ever extension of a deal for the super-chilled fuel.
Hours after the men were freed, Foreign Secretary Vinay Kwatra announced that the Prime Minister would be visiting Qatar on 15 February, after his two-day tour of the UAE.
Kwatra also said that Modi had personally overseen the release of the Indian nationals, adding that he never “shied away” from “any initiative” that would ensure their freedom.
Swamy has often been known to put his foot in his mouth. As Union minister in 1991, he reportedly threatened to jail the then Lok Sabha Speaker. In 2020, he said printing a photo of Goddess Lakshmi, the Hindu deity of prosperity, may improve the condition of the Indian currency.
A year before, he reportedly refused to participate in Modi’s ‘Main Bhi Chowkidar’ campaign — which saw several BJP leaders add the word “chowkidar” to their social media handles — saying he was a Brahmin and thus could not be a security guard.
Also read: Qatar releases ex-Indian Navy personnel: Cong welcomes it, slams govt for not ‘acting on time’