Oppn slams Fadnavis for his role in film row

Says it’s not CM’s job to organise such ‘settlement’

Even as the film Aye Dil Hai Mushkil appears to have received the green light from Raj Thackeray-led MNS, opposition leaders in the city have slammed the Chief Minister for his role in this controversy.

A meeting was organised on Saturday by CM Devendra Fadanavis with Raj Thackery and various members of the film industry. The MNS leader had demanded that no Pakistani actor should be featured in Indian films; after this, a sum of Rs 5 crore should be paid by producers who had already taken such actors in their films and a tribute should be paid to the martyrs at the start of this film. All these demands have been agreed to by the film producers.

However, Congress spokesman Sachin Sawant said that it was not the job of the state CM to organise this ‘settlement’ between the two sides. “This is a very serious matter and something like this should never have been done by the CM,” he said.

If there was any security problem, then it was the duty of the CM to provide the necessary law and order arrangement so that there was no disturbance anywhere, he said. “We had faced a similar problem at the time of release of the film `My Name is Khan’ and the Congress government had provided security at the theatres,” Sawant recalled. The Congress had shown that it does not bow to any kind of pressure, he added.

In fact, if there is any objection to Pakistani actors taking part in Indian films, then this has to come from the Central Government, he said. “The state administration should talk to Prime Minister Modi to make this happen, and not get involved in making such settlements,” Sawant stated.

NCP spokesman Nawab Mallik said it appears that the state government has started a department of arbitration by calling the two sides for a meeting on the issue. “This is also an insult to the soldiers who lost their lives in the Uri attack since a price of Rs 5 crores has been put on their martyrdom,” he pointed out.