Telangana Congress government indulges in publicity stunt to deflect blame for stampede: Center | India News – Times of India

HYDERABAD: The Center on Friday denounced the arrest of Allu Arjun and said the Congress government in Telangana was “indulging in publicity stunts” by arresting the national award-winning actor to take the blame for the stampede outside Sandhya Theatre on December 4, killing one woman. However, CM A Revanth Reddy justified the action saying that there are no separate laws for film stars and politicians.
Union I&B Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw backed the actor and said the stampede was a clear case of poor arrangements by the state and local administration. “Congress has no respect for the creative industries and the arrest of Allu Arjun proves it once again,” he said on on December 4, should punish “instead of constantly attacking film personalities”.
Talking to the media, the CM emphasized that the law is equal for all and recalled that even Bollywood stars like Sanjay Dutt and Salman Khan were arrested in several cases. “Who is responsible for the death of the woman in the stampede? The film was made with huge investment by the producers to make money and not for any social purpose,” Revanth said.
Admitting that his government had given permission for the show on December 4, the CM said, “If the film’s hero had come in a car and watched the film silently, there would have been no problem. But he came out of his car and waved to the crowds. Police and security failed to control the crowd, leading to the unfortunate incident. That is why the film hero was booked.” The CM said the police followed due procedure in booking and arresting Allu Arjun while he was going to his house nine days after the stampede.
Revanth said he was monitoring developments after the stampede. “If the film’s hero was not booked, people would ask the government why there is special treatment for Allu Arjun,” he said, adding that he knew the actor very well and his father-in-law Chandrasekhar Reddy is a Congress neta who is. also his relative. Allu Arjun’s uncle, megastar Chiranjeevi, is also a Congress leader, the CM added.