Amid reports that actor Amitabh Bachchan would be part of a government programme in Delhi coinciding with the NDA government’s completion of two years in office, the Congress Wednesday raised questions on the propriety of PM Narendra Modi sharing dais with the actor whose name figured in the Panama Papers disclosures.
The party asked if such a programme would send a signal to agencies probing the Panama Papers case.
Union Law Minister D V Sadananda Gowda, however, said Bachchan attending the event would not have an impact on the probe.
The Indian Express had on April 4 reported that records of Panamanian law firm Mossack Fonseca showed that Bachchan served as director of four offshore shipping companies between 1993 and 1997. The actor has said he did not know the companies and that “it is possible that (his) name has been misused”.
Congress’s communication department head Randeep Surjewala said: “Everyone in India loves Amitabh Bachchan. We all love him as an elder and as an artist… We want to place this question before Prime Minister Narendra Modi….would it be fair, would it not send a message to all investigating agencies… when a person accused of having links with companies abroad is seen…hosting or organising and the PM, under that person’s leadership, attending a programme to celebrate two years of his government.”
“…Would it not defeat or weaken both morally, ethically and perhaps also legally the drive of the PM who had promised to bring back black money?,” Surjewala asked.
Responding to the Congress’s statements, Gowda said, “Practically, there is no link between the participation of Amitabh Bachchan and the investigation into Panama Papers (disclosures).”