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Congress mocks Amitabh's role as Gujarat brand envoy

February 05, 2010 11:12 IST

Even as Shiv Sena chief Bal Thackeray asked Sena workers to stage black flag demonstrations at events addressed by Rahul Gandhi during his visit to Mumbai on Friday, it is uncertain if the the Congress party general secretary will defend his friend Shah Rukh Khan, who is under attack from the Sena.

Amitabh Bachchan, once close to Rahul Gandhi and his family, apparently sees nothing wrong in the fact that the Sena has threatened not to permit the screening of Shah Rukh's film My Name is Khan in Mumbai theatres next week in protest against the superstar's refusal to apologise for his comments on allowing Pakistani cricketers to play in the Indian Premier League.

Bachchan chose instead to blog on how much Bal Thackeray and his son Uddhav, the Sena's executive president, enjoyed his latest film, Ramgopal Varma's Rann.

He also agreed to be a brand ambassador for Bharatiya Janata Party-ruled Gujarat this week and blogged appreciatively about state Chief Minister Narendra Modi. He is reportedly trying to secure a tax exemption certificate for Paa, the film he produced, in BJP-ruled Karnataka and met Chief Minister B S Yeddyurappa in this connection.

Hari Prasad, the Congress party general secretary in charge of Gujarat, notes, "Uttar Pradesh mein dum ghut gaya is liye Gujarat mein dum lagane gaye hain" (he was stifled in UP, now he is trying to breathe in Gujarat), a reference to Bachchan's earlier role as brand ambassador for Uttar Pradesh when Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh Yadav was that state's chief minister.

His wife Jaya Bachchan is a Samajwadi Party MP and has so far eluded Yadav's purge of politicians close to former party general secretary Amar Singh, who considers the Bachchans family.

The Bachchans and Gandhis, once family friends, had an unexplained falling out in the 1990s. Shah Rukh Khan is said to be close to Rahul Gandhi and his sister Priyanka Vadhra.

Renu Mittal in New Delhi