Congress slams Amitabh Bachchan as PM show host

The Congress on Wednesday strongly objected to Amitabh Bachchan’s association in the two-year celebrations of the Modi government on the basis of allegations against him in the Panama Papers, saying that this would influence the investigating agencies.

But the BJP defended it, while attacking the Congress for raising this issue. “Would it be fair... What message would it send to investigating agencies going into siphoning of funds abroad illegally” when they see the Prime Minister sharing dais with the “accused”, chief Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala told reporters.

Raising several questions over the issue, he wondered whether the mega star hosting the event, which is expected to be attended by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would not dilute the fight against black money.

He recalled that the PM has time and again vowed to bring back black money stashed abroad and punish those guilty.

The BJP, meanwhile, came out in strong defence of Mr Bachchan. A host of BJP leaders, including Union ministers, said the probe against Mr Bachchan has nothing to do with the event linked with a social issue which the megastar will attend on May 28 and attacked Congress for its “mental disability” in raising a row over it.

“See, practically, participation of Amitabh Bachchan and the investigation with regards to Panama Papers, certainly, it will not have any connectivity. Investigation will be done by an independent agency, they will take care of things. Even today, we have seen so many cases against politicians. Agencies do their duty independently. There is no harm,” Union law minister Sadananda Gowda said when asked about the Congress’ charge that the actor’s presence will not “go down well” with the probe agencies.

Union Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma said the megastar is only hosting a programme and he is not yet proven guilty by any court. “You may have questions, but has he been labelled guilty for that. His name has come. Let the court of law take action. If somebody is hosting a programme for celebrating our two years and he is not a criminal, he is a respected person of society. If his name has come, let the court of law take action,” he said.

The BJP Spokesperson Shahnawaz Hussain said the superstar has done a lot of good in films and people love him more than Congress vice president Rahul Gandhi, but this should not be a reason for Congress to be “jealous about”.