BJP slams Congress for targeting Amitabh Bachchan

New Delhi, March 28 (IANS) The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Sunday accused the Congress of 'ill-treating and practicing untouchability' with Bollywood icon Amitabh Bachchan because he has differences with one 'family of the party'.

'Congress has shown every sign of frustration and maligning opposition parties at every step. It has ill-treated and practiced untouchability with one actor, Amitabh Bachchan because he has differences with one family of Congress,' party spokesperson Nirmala Sitharaman told reporters here.

Though Sitharaman did not name the Congress family, the reference was to the Gandhi family, with whom the Bachchans had once been close.

'They are ill-treating and dishonouring an eminent artist,' the BJP leader said.

Bachchan was recently embroiled in a controversy when he attended the inauguration of the Bandra-Worli sea link's extension, leading to protests from some Congress leaders as he is the brand ambassador for Gujarat.

The Bollywood star posted scanned copies of the official invite he received for the event on his blog, after Maharashtra Chief Minister Ashok Chavan denied that he had invited the superstar. Bachchan also said that he had been invited by a minister.

Chavan, who was to attend a literary fest in Pune, changed his programme and visited it a day earlier reportedly to avoid the actor, the actor said in his blog.

Bachchan in his blog Sunday also said that his actor-son Abhishek, who was appointed brand ambassador by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF) for Earth Hour, was dropped at the last minute and even his photo was not shown. The programme was attended by Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dixit.