Legally, ethically, morally wrong' for Amitabh to host BJP event: Congress
New Delhi: The Congress on Wednesday hit out at the BJP government at the Centre, saying it was ‘legally, ethically, morally wrong’ to have Amitabh Bachchan as the host for a mega event at India Gate on May 28 to mark the second anniversary of the government.
Congress spokesperson Rajdeep Surjewala raked up the Panama Papers scandal, in which the Bollywood megastar’s name figures in the list of Indians who have allegedly stashed money abroad. “By having Bachchan as host, what message is the government trying to send?” asked Surjewala.
Read: 2 years of Modi govt: BJP to launch series of programmes to highlight achievements
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 Prime Minister has time and again vowed to bring back black money stashed abroad and punish those guilty. During the poll campaign, BJP leaders had promised to deposit Rs 15 to Rs 20 lakh in the bank account of every individual once the black money is uncovered.
Read: NDA to highlight achievements in 200 'nerve centres' for 2nd anniversary
But Bachchan responded that he was not hosting the show contrary to popular impression. "This is misinformation. not hosting ..only doing a small segment on 'beti bachao, beti padhao", the megastar said on his Twitter handle.
Amitabh's son Abhishek Bachchan also backed his father's clarification. "He (Amitabh Bachchan) is part of a function where he's talking about educating the girl child. That's not a political event," said Abhishek.
#WATCH: Abhishek Bachchan clarifies on Amitabh Bachchan hosting #2YearsOfModiGovt event.https://t.co/078heKcvIO
— ANI (@ANI_news) May 25, 2016
Bachchan’s name appears as a director of numerous offshore companies in Panama Islands and British Virgin Islands. Records of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca showed that Bachchan served as director of four offshore shipping companies between 1993 and 1997. However, Bachchan has issued a statement that he did not know any of the companies, had not been a director of any of them and said that his name might have been misused.
Read: Amitabh Bachchan to host Modi govt's 2-year anniversary event at India Gate
The Narendra Modi government has identified 200 "nerve centres" across the country to highlight their achievements beginning its second anniversary on May 26. BJP will observe a 21-day-long 'vikas parv' from May 26 to June 15, during which 33 teams, each comprising of one Cabinet Minister, one Minister of State (MoS) along with a national and state-level party functionary will visit 6-7 identified "nerve centres" to highlight the achievements of the government.
Read: I'm a law-abiding citizen, says Amitabh Bachchan on name in Panama Papers
As part of the celebrations, the government is organising the event-- 'Zara Muskura Do' (Smile Please) - which will have several performances and programmes highlighting its "achievements". Various schemes and programmes, particularly Swachh Bharat Abhiyan, Digital India and Rural Electrification, will be highlighted during the show. The show will be beamed across the country by Doordarshan. It was reported that this show is being hosted by Amitabh Bachchan.
