Thiruvananthapuram/New Delhi: The Kerala
government's move to rope in Amitabh Bachchan as the state's
brand ambassador hit a road block today with the CPI-M central
leadership coming out against the idea as the Bollywood
megastar happened to be the promoter of Gujarat tourism.
"The state government will take a final decision in
the matter. But I am sure that the Left Democratic Front
government will not use the same tourism ambassador who is
being used by Narendra Modi's government in Gujarat,"
Politburo member Sitaram Yechury said in Delhi.
He said no final decision has been taken in this
regard by the CPI(M)-led government and "I am sure that
something like that will not happen".
After Bachchan recently expressed his interest in
promoting tourism in Kerala, Tourism Minister Kodiyeri
Balakrishnan wrote a letter to him for further discussions on
the issue. Bachchan responded to the invitation positively
paving the way for discussions.
Earlier in the day, highly-placed state government
sources said the proposal would be taken forward by sending a
senior official to Mumbai to hold discussions with Bachchan.
Bachchan, in a recent interview had said he did not
see anything wrong in being the promoter of tourism of the two
states simultaneously. He also said he represented only
Gujarat's tourism and not its politics.
PTI
First Published: Thursday, March 18, 2010, 18:08