HYDERABAD: Asserting that the law would take its own course, Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Friday made it clear that there was no role of the state government in the arrest of actor Allu Arjun for the death of M Revathi at the Sandhya Theatre.
The chief minister’s reaction came during a chit chat with the media in Parliament premises. He made it clear that the government would not support anyone, however famous he or she may be, when it comes to keeping the law.
Revanth also said that the police will take action as per the law, in both the Pushpa-2 incident and in the Manchu Mohan Babu case.
Later in the day, the chief minister told a television news channel that “Arjun didn’t simply return to his home after watching the film (at Sandhya Theatre)”.
“They are not going to fight on behalf of the country on the India-Pakistan border. They made the film, they will make money and leave, that’s it,” he said.
Revanth said that Arjun greeted his fans at the theatre, waving to them from his vehicle and due to this gesture, the situation went out of control. “This was why he was made A-11 and not A-1,” the chief minister said.
“Constitution is the same for the common man and the prime minister. We permitted the producers (of Pushpa-2) to screen benefit shows and raise ticket charges to Rs 1,300. It’s been 13 days since the death of a woman and hospitalisation of a child. Police met Allu Arjun after 10 days. He himself went to the police station from where the police produced him before the court,” the chief minister said.
He added: “A life has been lost and if we don’t take action, people would say that the government is not doing anything as the matter is related to film stars, and wonder if there was a separate Constitution for the rich.”
No special exemptions for film or political stars: CM
“A life was lost—shouldn’t a case be filed? There are no special exemptions for film stars or political stars,” the chief minister stated. Revanth added: “Before we discuss Allu Arjun’s arrest, we need to understand why Salman Khan and Sanjay Dutt were arrested in this country.
He added that it was Arjun’s own movie and the latter must have watched it many times. “There could have been a special show if he desired to watch it one more time. Allu Arjun could have watched it in his home theatre,” Revanth added.
He stated that the actor should have informed the police or the theatre management of his plans to watch the film there. Referring to the security arrangements made by the news channel interviewing him, he indicated that similar arrangements could have been made at the theatre.
Answering another question, the chief minister said that the film personalities invested money and made some business out of it, and the common man has nothing to do with the business, just like real estate business. Earlier, asked to give clarity on Cabinet expansion, the chief minister said that AICC leadership was busy with the ongoing Parliament sessions and that the Assembly was also in session.
He said that once the high command takes up discussions regarding Cabinet expansion, the TPCC president, the deputy chief minister and other key leaders from the state were likely to participate.