NEW DELHI: Amid the rising threats and shocking offers of bounty for actors and director of Bollywood movie Padmavati, and the growing outrage over it, Omar Abdullah has come up with a reality check. Do they even have the money, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir has questioned.
His tweet on the matter came after a man offered a bounty of Rs. 21 lakh on Mr Abdullah's father, Farooq Abdullah, for his alleged "pro-Pakistan" comments.
Mr Abdullah, 80, is the patriarch of the National Conference. On November 11, he had said PoK belonged to Pakistan and "this won't change" no matter how many wars India and Pakistan fought.
Announcing the bounty, Viresh Shandilya, the chief of Anti-Terrorist Front India had demanded the arrest of the Lok Sabha member from Srinagar, alleging that he was speaking against the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh -- the ideological mentor of the BJP -- supporting Pakistan and insulting India.
Hours after the comments of Viresh Shandilya, Omar Abdullah tweeted:
On Sunday, a BJP leader from Haryana, Surajpal Amu, offered a bounty of Rs. 10 crore on the heads of actor Deepika Padukone and filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali. A man from Meerut had offered Rs. 5 crore, but the amount should be doubled, he said.
His offer triggered outrage and the BJP demanded an explanation. Mr Amu said he had made the statement as a "Rajput" and not as the party's officer-bearer and added that he firmly stands by his statement.
Mr Amu's comment added to the threats of violence from the Rajput groups, which say the movie Padmavati, based on the story of Padmini, distorts history and portrays the legendary Rajput queen in an offensive manner.
The chief media coordinator of the BJP had also endorsed the Rajput Karni Sena's threat to chop off the nose of Ms Padukone. The actor's security had been scaled up after the threats.