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Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) minister Nitesh Rane questioned if the recent knife attack on Bollywood’s Saif Ali Khan was real or if Khan was acting, and called the actor “garbage”, Indian media reported

Khan, 54, was stabbed six times at his Mumbai residence during an alleged attempted burglary and was subsequently hospitalised. Days later, he was discharged, returned home and was extensively photographed by paparazzi as he walked from his car to his house.

Rane, addressing a public gathering in Pune, questioned the legitimacy of the attack, ANI reported. “Look at what Bangladeshis are doing in Mumbai, they entered Saif Ali Khan’s house. Earlier, they used to stand at road crossings, now they have started entering homes. Maybe they came to take Saif away. It is good, garbage should be taken away.”

The politician, who serves as the minister for port development in Maharashtra, said he saw when Khan was discharged and doubted whether he was actually stabbed. “He was dancing while walking.”

He criticised the Nationalist Congress Party’s Supriya Sule and Jitendra Awhad for only worrying about the Khans and not Hindu artists.

“Whenever any Khan like Shah Rukh Khan or Saif Ali Khan gets hurt, everyone starts talking about it. When a Hindu actor like Sushant Singh Rajput is tortured, no one comes forward to say anything,” the publication quoted Rane.

Earlier, Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Nirupam questioned the nature of the attack and asked Khan’s family to disclose the details of the attack.

“The way Saif came [out of the hospital] it seems as if nothing happened four days ago. I want to ask the doctors, can a person whose operation lasted six hours come out in such good shape within four days,” Nirupam said, according to ANI.