The Congress aggressively attacked the Narendra Modi government over the upcoming mega-show in Delhi to celebrate the government’s two years in power. The event was supposed to be hosted by Amitabh Bachchan. Congress questioned Modi government that why Amitabh Bachchan has to be a part of the government celebration as his name figured in the list of Indians having undeclared foreign assets. While, the actor had then denied links with any foreign firm claiming that his name may have been misused, the Congress has now questioned the BJP’s move.
On the other hand, senior Bachchan denied hosting the show. He is only doing one segment that is concerned with the Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao initiative, which is very close to his heart. Anyway, we all know he is mega star and exposing him is not that easy, as Panama has many big names linked to BJP that is the reason party is mum on this big expose. However, there is nothing inappropriate if an eminent personality like of Amitabh Bachchan participates in the initiative of Beti Bachao campaign.
It is very well known fact that, Bachchans and Gandhis have personal differences. The Bachchan family’s ties with the Gandhi family dated back to the early 20th century when Harivansh (Amitabh’s father) and Motilal Nehru, being from the same city of Allahabad were both iconic and close aides. Their friendship reached the pinnacle when Big-B and his family lent moral support to Rajiv in late 1960s during his marriage with Sonia, which was opposed by Indira. It was Big B’s mother who acted as a mediator between the young couple and Indira during their courtship and successfully convinced Indira to accept the marriage. The friendship continued throughout 1970s and early 80s too, with families sparing some time to visit each other and discuss about Big-B’s possibility of entering full-time, active and serious politics. There were a fuss fuss that Mrs. Indira Gandhi talked to Manmohan Desai and asked him to give a break to Mr. Bachchan in Hindi Film Industry.
However, things started taking a different turn in late 1980s when the Bofors scandal was exposed and alleged many including Rajiv and Bachchan for receiving kickbacks and indulging in serious corruption. This was the turning point when Bachchan started distancing himself from Rajiv to avoid tarnishing of his image (Bachchan was given clean chit later). In the early 1990s, the relationship between families turned sour especially after the assassination of Rajiv Gandhi. The Gandhi family was expecting Big-B to join Congress and assist Sonia, which he clearly refused citing his priority for film industry. This offended the Gandhis who felt betrayed by him. Few years later, when Big-B was in a financial crisis (due to bankruptcy of his company ABCL), he felt betrayed by the Gandhi family because he was expecting them to lend some support. This mutual feeling of disloyalty compounded and led to further events of further betrayals and rifts that widened especially after the Bachchan family’s ties with Amar Singh became stronger.
In the recent controversy, numerous Indians who figure in the list of those who have used tax havens to park their money have claimed that their investments were legal, while many have maintained silence. While superstar Amitabh Bachchan responded to the revelations, the media adviser to his daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai, was quoted by media reports as saying that the documents were “untrue and false”. There are many names in Panama Papers, including Heads of state, politicians, celebs and lawbreakers, they are named in a massive cache of leaked files exposing almost 40 years of intricate methods to make use of offshore assets. Offshore bank accounts are located outside a client’s country of residence, usually in “tax haven” territories chosen because of financial and legal advantages. They can be used to hoard money away from the oversight of national banking systems, evading regulatory oversight or tax obligations. Companies or individuals often use shell companies – set up purely a vehicle for financial transactions and initially amalgamated without significant assets or operations – to disguise ownership or other information about the funds involved. Nothing has so far proven or investigated but in the name of Amitabh the politics is worsening between BJP and Congress, and an eminent personality like him has no other option than rendering explanations getting into an awkward situation.
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