Bollywood actor-producer Riteish Deshmukh has told his brother and Congress legislator Amit Deshmukh that “time has come for him to take a decision”, amid speculation that he may be joining the Bharatiya Janata Party just like former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan. Amit has, however, denied any such plans
“Time has come for you to take a decision…Latur has many expectations from you, but Maharahstra too has many expectations,” Ritesh Deshmukh was heard telling his brother as he concluded his speech during the inauguration of a statue of his father and and former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh in Latur, Maharashtra.
Riteish broke down remembering his father during the speech. “It has been 12 years since my father passed away,” Riteish is heard saying in a choking voice.
Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee President Nana Patole, former Chief Minister Prithviraj Chavan, senior Congress leader Balasaheb Thorat, among others were present on the occasion.
Born on May 26, 1945, in Latur, Vilasrao Deshmukh served as the Chief Minister of Maharashtra twice and held ministerial positions in the UPA government under Manmohan Singh’s leadership. He died on August 14, 2012.
Riteish, who is will play Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj in his directorial next, did not elaborate on what exactly he expects his brother to do. There have been speculations that Amit, a Congress MLA from Latur, might join BJP. The speculation come at a time when many senior Congress leaders from Maharashtra have quit the party recently. While former Chief Minister Ashok Chavan joined the BJP, another former Congress leader Baba Siddique joined the Ajit Pawar faction of the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) and Milind Deora joined Eknath Shinde’s Shiv Sena.
Amit Deshmukh, however, said he was not quitting the Congress.
“If we recall the days of Vilasrao Deshmukh, we will realise the importance of being a loyalist. Vilasrao epitomised loyalty and how one should work for the party. There was a time when Congress had decided to take action against him. That time Vilasrao had told journalists that ‘even if they remove him from the party, how will they remove Congress from my blood?’. His statement holds significance today. People are speculating about me as well… I have told people that I am comfortable where I am,” Amit said, as quoted by a report in Indian Express.
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Published: 19 Feb 2024, 11:10 AM IST