Raj accepts Bachchan's apology, ends needless stir

After a public apology offered by Amitabh Bachchan on behalf his wife Jaya Bachchan’s alleged “anti-Marathi” remark that engrossed unnecessary uproar from Sena supporters, the Raj Thackeray led Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) has accepted the apology and stopped his pointless protest.

The party had threatened to boycott all Bachchan starrer movies in Maharastra and demanded for a public apology from Mrs Bachchan alleging her statement as disrespect to Marathi culture and people.

"We accept Big B's apology because he went public and we are withdrawing our agitation. However, Jaya Bachchan should not speak on issues that she has no idea of, and she should not speak impromptu and should stick to a script,” Raj Thackeray told reporters in Mumbai.

Due to some aggressive protest by MNS workers in Mumbai since the last couple of days, the premier of Amitabh Bachchan starrer movie The Last Lear schedule for Wednesday was cancelled.

Speaking to media persons, Bachchan said: “it was a merely very casual remark, as the event was not a political but film event. However, if there are people who feel that their sentiments have been hurt, then we take it upon ourselves to express regret for it. We had no intention of hurting anybody and we have apologised for it."

Mrs Bachchan too had expressed her apology in an interview to a newspaper The Mumbai Mirror, but MNS activists had demanded for a public apology. The party workers had even tore down posters of Bachchan's "The Last Lear," an English-language film slated for release on Friday.

With this, the film is all set to release uninterruptedly in Mumbai and rest of Maharastra.

The whole incident was a well-thought-out plan by the MNS who took this as an opportunity to gain political mileage. Last week too, Raj Thackeray supporters were arrested while vandalising shops and business establishments who refused to place their display board in Marathi language.

The Maharastra government is yet to take any action against Raj and his supporters who are continuously playing pity political games in the name of Maharastra and the rest of India.