Political rhetoric touched a new low in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh with Samajwadi Party chief and Chief Minister Akhilesh Yadav asking mega star Amitabh Bachchan “to stop appearing in the advertisement promoting donkeys of Gujarat.” Akhilesh was speaking at an election rally at Raebareli on Monday.
During Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s tenure as Gujarat Chief Minister, the star was appointed as the brand ambassador of the State by its Government. The advertisements promoting the State as a tourism destination featured the actor inviting people to visit the State with the famous tagline “Kuch din to gujaro Gujarat mein.(Come and spend a few days in Gujarat).”
“Kamal hai, gadhon kaa vigyapan hone lagaa! Socho desh kis disha mein jaa rahi hai. (It’s surprising that donkeys are being advertised. It raises a big question over the direction the country is headed),” said Akhilesh at the election meeting.
“I would like to appeal to the mahanayak of the millennium to stop promoting the donkeys of Gujarat. You all must have seen the promotional advertisement on TV. The donkey is a domesticated animal and people, particularly the rural folks are aware of the utility of the animal,’’ said the Chief Minister.
Posing a question to the people, Akhilesh said, “Tell me, do donkeys need publicityIJ Yet, the Government of Gujarat is promoting donkeys.”
Akhilesh read the whole text of Gujarat Government’s advertisement with the focus on one line, “Yah shahar wala gadha nahi hai, jo sadak par khada koi gahree baat sochta ho. Iske paas sochne, samajhne ki fursat kahan. (It’s not an urban donkey with the time and ability to think deep thoughts. This donkey has no time to think about anything).”
Reading out another line, Akhilesh said, “Yah janaab duniya mein sirf yahi milenge. Ahmedabad se 150 km dur. Maheeno ho gaye nahaaye huye, lekin dikhte hain bilkul neat and clean (this animal is found only in Gujarat, 150 km away from Ahmedabad. They have not bathed for months but still look how neat and clean they are).”
Incidentally, Jaya Bachchan, wife of Amitabh Bachchan is a two-term Rajya Sabha MP of SP. She is also campaigning for the party along with Chief Minister Akhilesh’s MP wife Dimple.
later, Akhilesh also addressed an election meeting in Amethi in favour of controversial Minister Gayatri Prajapati.