Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw slams Congress govt over Allu Arjun's arrest, says ‘it proves…’

Saying that Sandhya theatre incident was a case of poor arrangements by the state, Vaishnaw added that Congress was doing publicity stunts to deflect the blame.

Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw on Friday slammed the Congress government in Telangana, saying actor Allu Arjun's arrest proves that the grand old party has "no respect for the creative industry".

The Pushpa 2 actor, Allu Arjun, had to spend the night in jail due to delay in release of his interim bail order. (Santosh Kumar/ Hindustan Times)

The minister's remarks came hours after the Pushpa 2 actor was arrested in connection with the death of a woman in a stampede at Sandhya Theatre in Hyderabad. The incident took place when a sea of fans gathered at the theatre near RTC Crossroads to catch a glimpse of Arjun.

During the surprise visit, a stampede ensued and the situation worsened when the theatre management failed to identify a separate exit for the actor and his entourage.

The chaos left Revathi dead, while her son Sri Teja experienced asphyxiation and is currently undergoing treatment in a hospital, police had said.

"The mishap at Sandhya Theatre was a clear case of poor arrangements by the state and local administration. Now, to deflect the blame, they are indulging in such publicity stunts," Vaishnaw's post on X read.

The union minister further advised the Revanth Reddy-led Telangana government to assist those affected and punish those who were responsible for making arrangements that day, "instead of continuously attacking film personalities".

"It is also sad to see this becoming a norm in the one year Congress has been in power there," he added.

The war of words between the Congress government and the opposing parties broke out as soon as news of Allu Arjun's arrest surfaced.

Bharat Rashtra Samithi (BRS) working president KT Rama Rao also hit out against Arjun's arrest and described the detention as an example of "insecurity of the rulers".

"Treating Allu Arjun Garu as a common criminal is uncalled for, especially for something he isn’t directly responsible for," Rao said in his X post.

He further noted that there is always space for respect and dignified behavior, condemning the "high-handed" conduct of the Congress government.

Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy, however, said the state government had no role in the case under which Arjun was arrested, adding that the law is taking its own course.

Notably, Arjun was taken into custody from his residence and taken to Chikkadpally police station in a police vehicle. Later, he was taken to Gandhi Hospital for a medical examination.

The actor was then produced before a Hyderabad court, which remanded him in judicial custody for 14 days. But, Arjun was granted interim bail by the Telangana High Court.

Even after being given bail, the actor was required to spend the night in jail due to a delay in the release of his interim bail order, authorities reportedly said.

Allu Arjun was released on Saturday morning.