Cong, BJP slam Kerala govt on Bachchan fiasco

TPURAM: Congress and BJP Friday came down heavily on the Kerala government for insulting Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan by backing out from a proposal to make him the state�s brand ambassador after inviting him. The government should not have insulted Bachchan after inviting him to promote state tourism, Congress leader in the state assembly Oommen Chandy told reporters.

Keralas tradition is to show affection and respect towards all. The government should have avoided a situation which amounted to humiliating a great artiste like Bachchan, Chandy said in Kochi.

BJP state president V Muraleedharan said the reversal of the government�s stand once again betrayed the CPI-Ms Stalinist face. The government should have asserted itself on the issue by upholding the democratic tradition that its commitment was to the people as a whole and not to the party alone, he told a party meeting here.

The stand that Bachchan was not acceptable to Kerala because he also happened to be brand ambassador of Gujarat under Narendra Modi ran counter to the spirit of democracy, he said. The CPI-M central leadership had Thursday halted the government�s move to make Bachchan the brand ambassador since he had accepted the Modi government�s invitation.