New Delhi: Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan's new-found camaraderie with Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi has a supporter in Amar Singh.
The expelled Samajwadi Party leader has slammed the media and "political rivals" for playing up Bachchan agreeing to be the brand ambassador of Gujarat.
"For the last few days the media and our political rivals have talked much about Amitabh-ji being the brand ambassador of Modi," Amar Singh wrote on his blog.
"This is a white lie," his latest entry reads, seeking to clarify that the Bollywood icon has not tied up with Modi, who is accused of tacitly supporting the 2002 sectarian violence in Gujarat in which hundreds of Muslims were killed.
"Don't provoke the Muslim community. There is no politics involved (in Bachchan getting closer to Modi)," Amar Singh said.
Bachchan had organised a special screening of his movie "Paa" for Modi in Gandhinagar Jan 6 and also expressed his wish to be Gujarat's brand ambassador. The chief minister followed it up with a formal offer to the Bollywood icon, who accepted it Feb 1.
After the Jan 6 meeting with the chief minister, the Bollywood star wrote in his blog: "He (Modi) lives simply and with mere basic needs and most unlike the head of a state. He speaks with affection on development and progress. He is welcoming to fresh ideas and ideals. His oft repeated phrase of him being a CM, a common man, is not misunderstood."
This praise of Modi had left Bachcha fans dumbstruck.
But Amar Singh said there was nothing wrong in the actor meeting Modi.
"He (Amitabh) had gone to meet Modi not an activists of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)," Amar Singh wrote.
He compared the meeting with the one former chief minister and Samajwadi Party leader Mulayam Singh had with K. Sudarshan of the RSS.
"Did Mulayam became the Sangh activists after meeting Sudarshan," Amar Singh wrote.
He said Amitabh has only agreed to Modi's proposal of promoting tourist places in Guarat.
