No sooner had actor Ajay Devgn created a Twitter storm by his overwhelming praise for Narendra Modi for the latter’s decision to scrap Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes, Aishwarya Rai too threw her weight behind the prime minister on Saturday.
Both actors had their names feature in the infamous Panama leaks earlier this year.
Aishwarya, who appeared concerned about national interest, told NDTV, “As a citizen, honestly I will say congratulations Mr Prime Minister. You have gone ahead with a very strong move for your larger plan to wipe out corruption in our country and that’s the larger overview we as a country need to recognize. Change is not always comfortable, everyone will find their way to embrace it if they focus on the larger picture.
Her vocal support for an issue, which is increasingly turning into a heated political topic, assumes significance given that she is not known for often speaking on controversial political subjects.
Earlier in the week, Ajay Devgn, had earned ire from many social media users’ after he tweeted in support of demonetisation.
His tweet, which had Modi tagged, read, “100 sonaar ki, 1 lohaar ki. Masterstroke.”
100 सोनार की, 1 लोहार की।
Masterstroke @narendramodi— Ajay Devgn (@ajaydevgn) November 8, 2016
According to Pnama Leaks papers, Mossack Fonseca & Co (BVI) Ltd, according to a report in Indian Express, was the registered agent of Marylebone Entertainment Ltd at the time of incorporation.
Registered in the BVI on 29 October, 2013, Hassan N Sayani, a London-based individual was the original shareholder with him being issued 1,000 shares on 31 October, 2013.
The Shivaay actor was reported to have bought over the entire shareholding from Sayani the same day.
Reacting to the disclosure Ajay Devgan told the paper,“This company was set up with RBI guidelines for overseas direct investment route. Proper disclosures have been made by my family in the tax returns as required by law.”
The reported secret list, called ‘Panama Papers’, contained about 500 prominent Indians, including megastar Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya among other politicians and businessmen.
The Panama Papers were a leaked set of 11.5 million confidential documents that provided detailed information about more than 214,000 offshore companies listed by the Panamanian corporate service provider Mossack Fonseca, including the identities of shareholders and directors of the companies.
Earlier, Bachchan had issued a statement saying that his name was “misused” and he was not aware of any of the companies mentioned in the report.
Aishwarya’s legal adviser had called the investigation false.