With Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) elections just a few months away, politicians from various parties voiced their stand for and against comedian Kapil Sharma after he accused officials of the Corporation of taking a bribe of Rs 5 lakh to set up his office.
Congress and NCP attacked Shiv Sena and BJP, while the MNS film cell chief Ameya Khopkar threatened to stop Sharma from shooting.
Kapil Sharma is a “Liar”: MNS General Secretary
Accusing Kapil Sharma of being a “liar”, MNS general secretary Shalini Thackeray on Friday said that Kapil Sharma had added illegal storeys to his Andheri bungalow and destroyed mangroves.
CM Devendra Fadnavis should not support Sharma... We will soon furnish evidence of how he has been breaking municipal rules to his benefit. Sharma is a liar.Shalini Thackeray, MNS General Secretary
The illegal horizontal extension of Kapil’s ground-plus-one storey row house at SV Patel Nagar in Andheri was demolished on 4 August after he failed to respond to a 24 hour notice issued to him on 16 July asking him to pull down the extension, reported K-West ward assistant municipal commissioner, Parag Masurkar.
Asking the actor to furnish evidence about the allegations, MNS film cell chief Ameya Khopkar threatened to stop Sharma from shooting.
The illegal structure was pulled down by the BMC on 4 August. Sharma took over a month to hurl charges against the BMC and the MNS. Now Sharma should furnish evidence about the allegations.Ameya Khopkar, MNS Film Cell Chief
Congress Backs Kapil, Calls BMC “Bhrastachar Municipal Corporation”
Saying there must be some ground on the comedian’s accusations against BMC, Congress came out in support of Kapil Sharma and even called the municipal body “Bhrastachar (corruption) Municipal Corporation”.
Calling BMC, the “most corrupt municipality in the world”, President of Mumbai Congress Committee Sanjay Nirupam lashed out on Twitter against BMC and various political parties accusing the actor.
Punish Kapil First & Then Bribe Takers: Shiv Sena
The Shiv Sena who runs the BMC in an alliance with the BJP, lashed out at Kapil Sharma after his bribe allegations. They said that since it was the comedian who was carrying out the illegal construction, Kapil should be punished before they checked if he was asked for a bribe or not.
Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut described Sharma as an ‘outsider’, who just wants to damage Mumbai’s reputation.
Kapil Sharma reads out prepared scripts, I want to know who wrote this script.Sanjay Raut, Shiv Sena MP
One Who Gives Bribe Also Offender: BJP
BJP legislator Ram Kadam has allegedly filed a complaint against Sharma with the Mumbai police’s cyber cell for not reporting about the bribery demand earlier.
I have filed a complaint against the comedian as he kept quiet on bribery issue and did not file a complaint against the officer who asked for the bribe. I know that one who gives bribe is equally responsible as the one who demands it.Ram Kadam, BJP Legislator
BJP MP Kirit Somaiya appeared to take a dig at Shiv Sena.
CM Fadnavis Directs BMC to “Take Strictest Action”
As Sharma’s tweet went viral, BMC asked him to lodge a formal complaint and name the officer who demanded bribe from him. This was followed by a promise of action from none other than Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, who took to Twitter to reassure Sharma.
(With inputs from The Times of India Times, Mumbai Mirror and ANI.)
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