Mumbai: Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray on Saturday, August 1, slammed Bollywood actors, including Vivek Oberoi and R Madhavan, for publicly praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his government while living abroad.
Thackeray was addressing a youth gathering on the 20th anniversary of the Maharashtra Navnirman Vidyarthi Sena rally in Mumbai. He questioned why prominent celebrities move abroad to places like Dubai while actively endorsing the domestic progress under the current government.
“R Madhavan, who praised PM Modi, where does he live? He lives in Dubai. So if you love India so much, if you love PM Modi, and if you believe PM Modi is developing India, then why are you living in a foreign land? Why are you living in Dubai with your families?” Thackeray asked.
He alleged that many Bollywood actors, despite returning to India, only work on what he called “government-sponsored” projects like Dhurandhar before they leave again for their homes outside India.
During his speech, Thackeray said that the government in Parliament has reportedly admitted that businesspersons are leaving the country. “Vivek Oberoi, who played Modi’s role in the movie on Modi’s life, lives in Dubai. R Madhavan, who goes on about how everything became great during Modi’s time and how the country changed, moved to Dubai with his family. If you think Modi has made everything so great, then why are you settling abroad? These people will come here to work in government-sponsored films and then go back to Dubai. Industrialists are going abroad,” the MNS chief said.
He thanked the participating students for joining the first student rally held since the nationwide protests over the NEET examination. “When I started my work, the times were different; the issues facing students back then were different, and today’s issues are different. Everything has changed entirely,” Thackeray said. “I have witnessed the era from Telegram to Instagram.”
He added that after the “Gen Z protests,” there was a “lot of talk” about the generation. “But don’t assume Gen Z means only urban Gen Z. Just as we need to understand their issues, we must also understand the young men and women in rural Maharashtra from the same age group,” said Thackeray.
