Slam Modi govt over fuel prices or we will halt your films: Congress leader threatens Big B, Akshay Kumar

Srishti P
·3 min read

Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole has threatened that unless Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar criticise the BJP-led central government over rising prices of fuel, screening, shooting and release of their films in the state will not be allowed.

Lashing out at the film stars, Nana Patole, who was till 2018 with the Bharatiya Janata Party, said that Bachchan and Kumar “do not have the courage to speak against the dictatorial Modi government. During the Manmohan Singh government, people like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar used to tweet (about fuel prices)”.

Patole’s statement has met with the approval of the Congress’s ally in Maharashtra, the Shiv Sena. Party MP Arvind Sawant said there was nothing wrong with Patole’s statement.

The Congress leader went on to add that films of Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bacchan’s films will not be watched in Maharashtra as they are not speaking up ‘for people who buy tickets to watch them’, hiding his threat to the film stars behind questions such as: ‘Are you under Modi government’s pressure because of which you are not saying anything about rising fuel prices?’

“Those who don’t speak up for people who buy tickets to watch them, their movies won’t be watched in Maharashtra nor will shooting take place. This isn’t a threat. It’s about democracy and you are public idols and hold accountability,” Patole said and asked the actors to protest the central government’s ‘anti-national policies’.

Meanwhile, the BJP has come down heavily on Patole and asked Maharashtra Home Minister Anil Deshmukh to register a complaint against him.

“The Congress is openly threatening those who are standing in support of Ma Bharati. The country will not tolerate this. How can they openly threaten film celebrities like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar? How is this democracy?" asked BJP MLA Ram Kadam.

Fuel prices in the country are at an unprecedented high, with petrol prices crossing Rs 100 per litre in some cities.

Former Maharashtra chief minister and BJP leader Maharashtra Devendra Fadnavis dubbed Patole’s comments a ‘publicity stunt’.

“This is Nana Patole’s publicity stunt as he has been newly elected as the state Congress president. How can anyone stop shooting? There is democracy and law in the country,” said Fadnavis.

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