Actor Shabana Azmi has said it is important to point out flaws in one’s own country because it can help bring reform, ANI reported on Sunday. Azmi, who spoke at an event in Indore in Madhya Pradesh on Saturday, said any attempt to divide people was not good for the country.

“It is always necessary that we point out flaws for the betterment of our country,” she said. “If we do not, how will we bring improvement? But an atmosphere is building in which if we criticise the government, we are called anti-nationals. We should not be afraid, nobody needs their certificate.”

The actor said she had grown up in a composite culture. “We should fight the situation and not kneel before it,” Azmi added. “India is a beautiful country. Any attempt to divide people cannot be good for this country.”

Congress leader Digvijaya Singh, who was also present at the event, criticised Bharatiya Janata Party MP Pragya Singh Thakur for her remarks in support of Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse. “Today the person who killed Mahatma Gandhi is being hailed as a patriot,” Singh said. “There are reports that Nathuram Godse’s statue is being constructed. Can we not raise our voice against this?”

Thakur, an accused in the Malegaon blasts case, defeated Singh by over 3.64 lakh votes to win the Bhopal Lok Sabha seat in the elections held in April and May.