Mumbai:
The mud-slinging has begun in the Kalyan-Dombivli Municipal Corporation elections, and the first to be hit was actor Dino Morea, who joined the Shiv Sena for a road show in Kalyan on Wednesday. Hours after the rally, a pro-BJP Facebook page posted pictures of the actor in various poses in an attempt to smear his character and lambast the Sena's values.
At 8.45 pm on Wednesday, a Facebook page titled 'Say No 2 Shiv Sena' posted a collage of Dino Morea's pictures. On top was a picture of the actor with Sena scion Aaditya Thackeray, taken during the Kalyan roadshow.
Right below that, however, were three other photographs of Morea painting him in 'immoral' light. In one photo, he's seen with a cigarette in his mouth, in another, he is in an intimate embrace with a woman, while in the third, the actor is lying semi-nude on a bed with tousled sheets.
Tying all the pictures together is a single caption in Marathi - 'Shiv Senache star pracharak Bhartiya naitik mulyanche pratibimb' (Shiv Sena's star campaigner is the reflection of Indian morality). This is not the first time that the Sena has met criticism from this Facebook account. mid-day had reported earlier this month, how the Sena had suspected that the BJP was behind the anonymous page.
The two parties are contesting the KDMC polls separately for the first time in two decades, and tensions are high between them. This time, too, the Sena has concluded that the smear campaign was the BJP's idea.
"This is not the BJP of the RSS or that of Atalji or Advaniji. It has changed, now that there is no ideology in the party. Taking a dig at an actor by releasing such pictures, shows that they have nothing concrete to discuss.
Nothing but such mud slinging can be expected from this party," said Captain Abhijit Adsul, former MLA and the Sena vibhag pramukh who is looking after the KDMC election campaign.
Adsul spoke in support of the actor and the party, and added, "They should check whether Hema Malini, Shatrughan Sinha or any of the actors who are in their party never did such scenes for entertainment.
He's an actor and such images are normal. In today's world, even Sunny Leone is accepted, and Dino Morea hasn't even acted in porn films. The BJP is filled with filth from other parties who didn't get any seat in NCP, Congress and MNS."
BJP: It wasn't usThe BJP, on the other hand, has once again denied any hand in the Facebook page. Niranjan Shetty, chief spokesperson for the party, who is also camped in the Kalyan-Dombivli area for the polls, said, "We will never get into mud-slinging of this kind.
This may be an act of some supporter. The Sena can use government machinery and find who is doing it. But it seems blaming BJP for everything has become the norm for Shiv Sena. It's up to them to get whoever they want for campaigning, immaterial of the person's status. We have nothing to do with it."