Didn't intend to hurt anyone's sentiments, says Neha Dhupia about criticising the government

Jul 27, 2015 NR

After facing a backlash for criticising the government on social media platform Twitter over its apathy towards Mumbai citizens during monsoon, actress Neha Dhupia has clarified that she didn’t intend to 'hurt' or 'demean' anyone with her post.

On July 21, Neha took to the micro-blogging site and wrote: "One rain and the city comes to a standstill. Good governance is not about selfies and making us do yoga, it's making sure your citizens are safe."

The post, many thought, took a jibe at Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who emphasises the importance of yoga and has made headlines for going on a selfie spree on several occasions.

But, in a statement issued on Monday, Neha said that "the intention of my tweet was never to demean or personally attack anyone".

Her statement read: "It was the mere frustration of a helpless citizen of Mumbai. I've tried to take the high road on the outcome and ignore the people who've abused me and my family ad nauseam online.

"But I was intimidated as protestors stood outside my house. I am grateful to our police for protecting us and request people to see that my words were about a subject and not a person. My goal was never to hurt anyone's sentiments.

"I have wholeheartedly and consistently supported the government's movements like 'Yoga Day' and 'Swachh Bharat' as I will do in the future as well. I hope we can focus on the issues that matter and that my appeal to improve our civic amenities is taken in the right way."