'Amitabh ad film': Congress takes potshots at BJP govt

New Delhi, Dec 31: Congress today took potshots at the BJP government following reports that actor Amitabh Bachchan is being roped in for an ad film to stress the need to rise above religion and caste for inclusive development.

It's like 'kauwa chala hans ki chaal' (It is crow trying to imitate the swan), Congress spokesperson Abhishek Singhvi said responding to the media report.

"Now the crow is imitating the swan's movement... All this camouflaging, all this gimmickry and advertising will not substitute what the government has done on issues like conversion, on remarks of VHP leaders like Ashok Singhal and others.

"All your protestations of innocence and all self-pity on communal harmony cannot answer...what has been the track record of the government on such issues, the silence of the most eloquent Prime Minister when these things happened. That is something all the talent of Bachchan cannot hide," he said.

At the outset, the Congress spokesperson said Bachchan is a very tall personality in Bollywood and every body respects his talent. To questions whom does he consider a crow, he said, "you all know who is the crow... Crow is the politics to divide society. Swan is the communal harmony."

The Congress spokesperson was reacting to questions on media reports that while Minister of State Minority Affairs Mukhtar Abbas Naqvi is set to tour areas which have a high minority population, actor Amitabh Bachchan has been roped in for an ad film that stresses the need to rise above religion and caste for inclusive development.

According to the reports, the ad film was a brainchild of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who had personally called up Bachchan.

PTI