The BJP condemned Nationalist Congress Party chief Sharad Pawar's statement that the Muslim minority has contributed the most to Bollywood – the Mumbai film industry – questioned why the NCP patriarch was dividing art and cinema in the name of vote bank. "What about Dadasaheb Phalke, Kishore Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Smita Patil, Madhuri Dixit etc," BJP spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla tweeted, a day after Sharad Pawar made the comment while speaking on the issues of Muslim at an event in Nagpur. Also Read | Vivek Agnihotri's dig at Sharad Pawar: ‘Like any king, his party collected tax’
"So terrorists have no religion but art and cinema have a religion Pawar Saheb?" the BJP spokesperson asked.
"But what can we expect from a party whose minister Nawab Malik is in jail for links with D company! But what can we expect from a party whose minister Nawab Malik is in jail for links with D company!" he wrote.
Opposing Sharad Pawar's statement, BJP leader Ram Kadam referred to Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Kishor Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and asked whether he can deny their contribution to the industry. "Dada Saheb Phalke set up the industry. Do they want to divide art or talent in the name of religion for the sake of vote bank politics. What is the conspiracy behind this thought?" he tweeted.
{{/usCountry}}Opposing Sharad Pawar's statement, BJP leader Ram Kadam referred to Amitabh Bachchan, Rajesh Khanna, Kishor Kumar, Lata Mangeshkar and asked whether he can deny their contribution to the industry. "Dada Saheb Phalke set up the industry. Do they want to divide art or talent in the name of religion for the sake of vote bank politics. What is the conspiracy behind this thought?" he tweeted.
{{/usCountry}}The Kashmir Files director Vivek Agnihotri also reacted to Sharad Pawar's statement and said when he came to Mumbai, Sharad Pawar was the king. "Like any king, his party collected taxes (sic). Many Bollywoodiyas contributed generoudly. In return they were allowed to create own kingdoms. I always wonders who were those people," Agnihotri tweeted adding that Sharad Pawar's statement on Saturday cleared all his doubts.
"Today, in all the fields, whether it is art, whether it is writing, or whether it is poetry, the highest contribution has come from the Minorities and has come in the Urdu language," Pawar said. Whether it is art or writing or poetry, the highest contribution came from minorities and has come in the Urdu language, he added.