Congress questions Rajinikanth's Phalke award win, accuses BJP of making 'political gains'

Questioning the Centre's motives behind announcing megastar Rajinikanth as the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award, Congress accused the government of attempting to gain 'political advantage' ahead of the Tamil Nadu polls. Highlighting that Rajinikanth should have been bestowed with the award long back, senior Congress leader Rajeev Shukla said that the BJP should not try to take 'political advantage' out of everything. Rajinikanth, who had announced his political plunge recently but backtracked swiftly citing health concerns, was announced as the recipient of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke award for 2019 as a result of his contributions to Indian cinema. 

"The government should not do anything which unnecessarily drags our celebrities in political controversies. Rajinikanth is a respected film personality. The BJP and the government should be wary of this and it should not try to take political advantage out of everything," PTI quoted Congress' Rajeev Shukla. 

"The government should not try to make political gains out of everything it does. If the government has done this with the intention of making political gains and with elections in mind, then this is not appropriate in politics," he added. 

Rajinikanth issues statement 

Responding to the Centre's announcement on Thursday morning, Rajinikanth expressed his delight on being announced as the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award.  The veteran actor, who will receive the award on May 3, expressed his gratitude to the Government for the honor, while mentioning Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Information & Broadcasting Minister Prakash Javadekar. The 70-year-old also acknowledged the people who contributed to his journey, mentioning his brother, bus driver, as well as former co-star Kamal Haasan and DMK's Stalin.   

Taking to Twitter, Rajinikanth extended his ‘heartfelt thanks’ to the government of India and PM Modi, who he addressed as ‘respected & dearest’, and Javadekar. Calling the honor as ‘prestigious’, he stated that he ‘sincerely’ decided it to the people who have been a part of his journey. 

"I thank the Central government, PM Modi for bestowing me with the greatest honour of Indian cinema. I want to take this moment to thank my bus driver Raj Bahadur, who was the first person to spot any talent in me and my brother Chandranarayana Rao Gaikwad for helping me through all the struggling times, when I was rock-bottom and in poverty, and for making the biggest sacrifices in life to help me fulfil my dreams. I'm forever indebted to you. I remember my guru Balachander who groomed me and instilled confidence and for making me an actor and a hero," Rajinikanth's statement in Tamil read.