'Will show black flags to Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar': Congress' Nana Patole
Further hitting out at the actors, Patole said, "I did not speak against Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan but against their work. They're not real heroes. If they were, they would've stood beside people during their sufferings. If they want to continue being 'kagaz ke sher', then we don't have any problem."
Maharashtra Congress chief Nana Patole on Saturday asserted that they will keep protesting against actors Akshay Kumar Amitabh Bachchan "whenever their movies are released". "We have not stepped back. We will show black flags to them whenever their films are released or when we spot them. We will follow democratic ways," news agency ANI quoted Patole as saying.
Further hitting out at the actors, Patole said, "I did not speak against Akshay Kumar and Amitabh Bachchan but against their work. They're not real heroes. If they were, they would've stood beside people during their sufferings. If they want to continue being 'kagaz ke sher', then we don't have any problem."
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After Patole's remarks, security was tightened at Bachchan's residence in Juhu. As per ANI report, a police car was stationed along with with two police officers outside the 78-year-old actor's bunglow. The police has also put barricades around the house.
Amitabh's personal security guards were also commissioned along with increased security, the news agency reported.
Earlier, Patole had slammed Bachchan and Kumar for their silence over the fuel price rise. He also questioned why the two actors did not speak about the issue affecting the common person like they did during the Congress-led central government’s regime until 2014.
He had also threatened to stop the shooting and release of their films in the state.
While the opposition leaders and former chief minister Devendra Fadnavis termed Patole's statement as a "publicity stunt", Congress chief spokesperson Randeep Surjewala had said that the party respects freedom of speech in reaction to the comments.
Amid the war of words, fuel prices continued to rise in the country. On Saturday, petrol price touched an all-time high of ₹97 a litre in Mumbai, while diesel was selling at ₹88.06 per litre. In the national capital, petrol was selling at 90 per litre after a hike of 39 paise. Diesel, meanwhile, was selling at ₹80.97 per litre after a hike of 37 paise.
During the upward trend, petrol has already crossed ₹100-mark per litre in some cities in the country.