Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, 13 July  

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Shirsat on Monday became the second Maharashtra Minister to target Aamir Khan over his third marriage after his BJP colleague Nitesh Rane, saying the Bollywood actor can be a brand ambassador of "love jihad".

Shirsat also said Khan may be a big star, but his act of marrying three times means he cannot rule people’s hearts. He also supported the remarks of BJP leader and State Minister Nitesh Rane, who had said that when celebrities take such decisions in their personal lives, Hindu society should think about it.

Rane had wondered whether Khan's latest marriage should be viewed as an example of "love jihad".

"Nitesh Rane is correct to an extent. When people follow you (Aamir Khan) as an actor, they think you are a big star. If this star does such work and gets married not once, twice, but thrice, what will people learn from him? He can be a brand ambassador of love jihad, but he cannot live in the hearts of common people,'' Shirsat told reporters.

Right-wing organisations often claim that "love jihad" is a conspiracy by Muslim men to strategically target, deceive, and lure women from other religions into marriage to force their conversion to Islam.

Khan married wellness and beauty industry professional Gauri Spratt in an intimate ceremony at his Pali Hill residence in Mumbai's Bandra on 5 July. The actor was earlier married to Reena Dutta from 1986 to 2002 and filmmaker Kiran Rao from 2005 to 2021.