I was invited…sea-link controversy manufactured: Bachchan

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan today said the controversy over his presence at a function here for the inauguration of the second phase of the Bandra-Worli sea link has been "manufactured".

Mumbai: Miffed over resentment in the Congress about his presence in a government function, Amitabh Bachchan on Thursday night hit out at his detractors, saying he was invited and that the whole controversy was manufactured.

The megastar also said there were half-page advertisements in the media that he will be taking part in the function, an apparent dig at Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan who said he would not have attended the function if he had known that Bachchan would be present. "I was invited...I had a formal invitation in the form of a letter from the PWD minister himself on his letter head," he said. The PWD ministry is headed by Congress coalition partner NCP. "I went there. It was a wonderful ceremony...What happens afterwards is their problem, not my problem," he said after Congressmen in Mumbai expressed their unhappiness over the presence of Bachchan, perceived to be close to Narendra Modi, at the inauguration of the second phase of the Bandra-Worli sea link on Wednesday. Chavan said Bachchan is a brand ambassador of Gujarat. "We will like to promote our own state. I would not have attended the function had I known he would be present". An unusually aggressive Bachchan told a private news channel "whether or not somebody wishes to make an issue or not out of my association with anyone, it is their prerogative..I am going to continue doing what I feel my conscience allows me to do". The actor said he had left politics over 25 years back and had never associated himself with anything political. Defending his decision to promote tourism in Gujarat, Bachchan said just because Modi is the chief minister and some people don't like him "I should not be associating with him is ridiculous". Writing on his blog, Bachchan said, "a fresh controversy has been rapidly manufactured on my involvement...the media has been hounding me since the event at the sealink". NCP Minister Jaidutt Kshirsagar, who is also chairman of the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation, the implementing agency of the sealink, justified the decision to invite Bachchan, saying he is an "icon". Taking advantage of the Congress discomfiture, BJP said Bachchan has become a victim of the "feud" in the Congress and "fear" of the Gandhi family in the party. "The Bandra-Worli sea-link is a national property and certainly not a property of the Congress party. Every Indian has a right to be there. Undoubtedly, Amitabh Bachchan is the nation's pride and a distinguished Mumbaikar who has full credentials to be the chief guest there," BJP spokesperson Rajiv Pratap Rudy said in Delhi. The Congress justified the resentment of party workers in the state on the ground that Bachchan has identified himself with Modi. "The party is aware of whatever has happened there. Chief Minister has already given a clarification. Party workers are angry because Amitabh Bachchan has identified himself with Narendra Modi," AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters. Bachchan said those who take umbrage over his association with Gujarat do not have the courage to stop "a Ratan Tata or an Ambani" from investing in the state and running successful ventures there. "Would you have the guts to tell them to not associate with the state, to pull out all their investment and manpower? I guess not. You would happily bring politics into the matter just to dissuade. But what good does that do to a person who is non-political. Reason and common sense overrides all else in moments like this. Such a shame really," he said. Bachchan said there was no question of his tendering any apology for being the brand ambassador of Gujarat. The brand ambassadorship of Gujarat is limited to making promotional films and does not envisage joining hands with Modi, he said. "I have been asked to promote heritage sites in Gujarat. Where does it bring politics?" he said. Asked if he didn't think that Modi was a chief minister who confronted some very uncomfortable questions, Bachchan said "there will be many chief ministers who will come and go but Gujarat will remain". "What I am doing is for a state and not for any individual", the actor said when asked to comment on whether his association with Modi had led to the controversy over his presence in Bandra-Worli sealink inauguration. To a question why the chief minister of Maharashtra said he was unaware of his presence, Bachchan said "it's a small thing. He may have forgotten about it. I don't think there is any politics behind it". When probed if his poor relations with the Gandhis were not the actual reason for Congress leaders being uncomfortable with him, he said "my relations with the Gandhis are my personal one. But it's incorrect to suggest that such a large party that has led this country for so many years will target one individual like me". -PTI Reason and common sense overrides all else in moments like this. Such a shame really.