Riteish Deshmukh. (Express Photo: Varinder Chawla)Bollywood actor Riteish Deshmukh hit back at Union minister Piyush Goyal who had claimed his father, former Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, was only worried about getting him a role in a film during the 26/11 Mumbai terror attack. Vilasrao Deshmukh, who passed away in 2012, was the Maharashtra chief minister when Mumbai 26/11 attack took place.
Without naming the minister, Riteish said on Twitter that it was “wrong to accuse someone who is not here to defend himself.” In a tweet addressed to “honourable minister,” Riteish wrote, “You have every right to question a CM but is wrong to accuse someone who is not here to defend himself. A bit late, 7 years ago – he would have replied to you.”
In an attack on Congress (the then government in Maharashtra), Goyal in Ludhiana said, “The then Congress government was weak and could not do anything. Vilasrao Deshmukh had brought a film producer outside Oberoi Hotel while shooting and bombing was going on inside. He was concerned about getting his son a role in a movie,” news agency ANI reported.
— Riteish Deshmukh (@Riteishd) May 13, 2019
Responding to this, Riteish said, “It is true that I had accompanied my father but untrue that he was trying to get me a role in a film. He never ever spoke to a director or a producer to cast me in film and I take pride in that.” He also said that while he did visit Taj and Oberoi Hotel, it was “untrue” that he was there while the ‘shooting and bombing’ was happening as the minister claimed.
A controversy had erupted after pictures of Riteish and director Ram Gopal Verma along with Vilasrao Deshmukh were seen at the scene of attacks. The then Maharashtra CM had later admitted that he regretted the act and that taking them along was a “mistake”.
