Maharashtra Congress threatens to halt Big B, Akshay's film shoots
What's the story
The Maharashtra Congress chief has lashed out at top film stars such as Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar because of their silence on the rising fuel prices. Nana Patole, the state party head, has further threatened to stop the shooting of movies involving them. "Don't they have the courage to speak against the dictatorial Modi government," he asked, while talking to media yesterday.
Details
'UPA government functioned democratically, hence they could criticize it'
"Rising fuel prices has hit common people's homes. During the Manmohan Singh government, people like Amitabh Bachchan and Akshay Kumar used to tweet (about fuel prices)," Patole remarked. He highlighted that they had protested when petrol price had increased to Rs. 70, then why not now when it has touched Rs. 100. "The UPA government functioned democratically, hence they could criticize it," Patole added.
Twitter Post
This was Big B's tweet about fuel prices in 2012
T 753 -Petrol up Rs 7.5 : Pump attendent - 'Kitne ka daloon ?' ! Mumbaikar - '2-4 rupye ka car ke upar spray kar de bhai, jalana hai !!'
— Amitabh Bachchan (@SrBachchan) May 24, 2012
Quote
'Speak up against anti-national policies of the Narendra Modi government'
Patole then added a verbal "threat," by saying, "In Maharashtra, we will not allow the shooting of films involving Amitabh Bachchan or Akshay Kumar. Either you speak up against the anti-national policies of the Narendra Modi government or we will stop your movies' shooting." Meanwhile, state BJP leader Ram Kadam came to the rescue of the actors, and criticized Patole's approach.
The counter
Maharashtra BJP came to the rescue of 'highly talented personalities'
Kadam could be heard and seen in a video, which is being circulated on social media, pointing out Patole's threat to "highly talented personalities," and asking, "Is tweeting in favor of India a crime?" "Some people sitting abroad are tarnishing India's image and the Congress is supporting them," he added, while raising fingers at the entire toolkit controversy.
Context
Some states have reported Rs. 100/liter for petrol
Notably, fuel prices keep fluctuating according to the changes in international rates of crude oil, and in the past few days, the rates have been record high. Some states have reported as high as Rs. 100/liter for petrol, which is a first. People have also slammed the government for not providing relief on taxes, which might bring down the prices for common public.