21 June,2017 08:36 AM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Mumbai Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam asks Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan to stop promoting GST and withdraw from the campaign to avoid being targetted by traders later
Amitabh Bachchan
Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan has been closely associated with several government ad campaigns and time and again been targetted for this. Well, add one for to the list. Now, senior Mumbai Congress leader Sanjay Nirupam has urged the Bollywood megastar to withdraw from the GST campaign to avoid getting targetted by traders later.
The Centre had roped in Amitabh Bachchan to promote Goods and Services Tax (GST), ahead of the sweeping tax reform's implementation scheduled from July 1.
The Central Board of Excise and Customs has made the 74-year-old Bachchan brand ambassador for GST. A 40-second video featuring him has already been shot and is being circulated.
"GST - An initiative to create a unified national market," the finance ministry said in a tweet, attaching the video.
HERE'S THE VIDEO:
In the video, Bachchan explains GST as a unifying force just like the three colours in the national flag. GST is an initiative to create 'one nation, one tax, one market', he says.
"The GST was a brilliant idea thought of by the Congress. It is another story that the BJP opposed it all the while it was in the opposition. But after coming to power, it started diluting the basic concepts of the GST, and that was not acceptable to us," Nirupam told reporters here.
Sanjay Nirupam
While the Congress sought GST as a single tax for the entire nation, the BJP introduced four tax slabs and three different sub-types of GST, he said.
"It has become very complicated now. Traders and service providers are required to fill three long forms every month. Thus, the basic purpose of the GST is defeated. This is unlike the way the GST has been implemented in other countries," he said.
"Some people are creating a confusion that we are opposing the same GST that we passed. But this is not true. We have always been for the GST but not in this format.
"We tried for three years to get our reservations noticed by the government but they (the BJP) then started maligning us so we had to pass it," Nirupam said.
"That is why I am suggesting Amitabh Bachchan should not be a party to every foolishness of the BJP. You (Bachchan) are a known person and have a wonderful reputation which may get maligned if there is a backlash from traders," he said.
"Being your fan, I suggest that you withdraw yourself from the GST campaign," the Congress leader said.
The politician also tweeted and went on TV to say that he felt Big B should not be a part of Bhartiya Janata Party's "stupidity".
The megastar was roped in just as the rollout of the biggest tax overhaul since independence entered its final phase.
Amitabh had mentioned on Twitter that he agreed to be part of the campaign simplye because he was asked.
Ace badminton star PV Sindhu was previously the GST ambassador.
This isn't the first time Amitabh has been targetted in political circles for his close ties to Modi 'sarkar'.
During he campaigning of the Uttar Pradesh elections in February, then UP Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav had a piece of advice for Big B, "don't advertise for the donkeys of Gujarat".
Without taking any name, he referred to the advertisement in which Bachchan, the brand ambassador of Gujarat Tourism, is seen inviting tourists to visit the Wild Ass Sanctuary located in Little Rann of Kutch in the state.
"Ek gadhe ka vigyapan aata hai. Main iss sadi ke sabse bade mahanayak se kahunga ke ab aap Gujarat ke gadhon ka prachar mat kariye (There's an ad on TV which shows donkeys. I appeal to century's biggest star, please stop endorsing the donkeys of Gujarat)," Akhilesh said.
Again, when there was buzz that Amitabh would host a special show to celebrate the 2nd anniversary of the BJP-led NDA government in the Centre, the Congress attacked Big B over his name figuring in the Panama Papers expose and questioned as to why the actor had been chosen to host a show in Delhi to celebrate two years of the government in power.
Addressing a press conference in the national capital, Congress spokesperson Randeep Surjewala asked that when PM Modi had promised to bring back black money and punish each person who was involved, would it not send a wrong message to all investigative agencies when a person accused of money laundering was seen hosting a program to celebrate two years of the BJP-led NDA government.
Incidentally, Big B has been promoting the government's 'Beti Bachao, Beti Padhao' campaign, is the face of Hepatitis B drive and is the brand ambassador of the Swachh Bharat Misssion.
(With agency inputs)
