Lata's funeral: BJP leader receives backlash after Shah Rukh Khan 'spitting' comment

• BJP leader claims SRK spat on Lata's funeral.
• Netizens come to Shah Rukh Khan's defence.
• SRK was actually blowing on Lata's funeral.

A Bharatiya Janata Party has received flak for turning Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's lovely gesture during legend Lata Mangeshkar's funeral controversial.

BJP Uttar Pradesh Spokesperson Prashant Umrao took to Twitter after some of his party workers and leaders claimed SRK had spat on Lata.

He said: "Shahrukh is Spitting!"

The veteran’s demise has left millions of her fans in a state of shock. Amid all this, there were a number of high-profile people from all spheres of life who attended Mangeshkar’s funeral at Mumbai’s Shivaji Park, but the BJP did not stop with its propaganda.

Twitterati lashed out at the BJP leader as well as those claiming that the Bollywood star had spat at the funeral.

Social activist Ashoke Pandit said "fringe targetting SRK by falsely accusing him of spitting at Lata's funeral should be ashamed of themselves."

"He prayed and blew on her mortal remains for protection & blessings in her onward journey. Such communal filth has no place in a country like ours," he said.

A Twitter user told the BJP leader that he was "shameless".

Indian writer Shiv Ramdas said: "If he actually spat on you, you'd never bathe again."

Nadir Cazi berated the BJP leader, saying that he didn't even let go of this sad event to spread his hate.

What was SRK doing?

The B-town star was actually just blowing on the body of Lata after making dua for her — a common practice among Muslims.

About Lata

Bollywood superstar Lata, known to millions as the "Nightingale of India" and a regular fixture of the country's airwaves for decades, died Sunday morning at the age of 92.

Mangeshkar's high-pitched melodies were an instantly recognisable feature of Indian cinema, with her work appearing in more than 1,000 films.

She passed away in a Mumbai hospital after being admitted to its intensive care unit several weeks ago with COVID-19 symptoms.

Mangeshkar was born in 1929 in Indore, central India, and started her musical training under the tutelage of her father Deenanath, singing in his theatrical productions when she was just five years old.

Mangeshkar dominated Bollywood music for more than half a century and is considered by many to be the Indian film industry's greatest-ever playback singer.

Mangeshkar was equally revered across the border in Pakistan, where TV channels spent the day broadcasting rolling coverage of her death and playing songs from her repertoire.