NEW DELHI: An eleven-minute Bollywood extravaganza at the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne was held at a cost of Rs40 crore. In stark contrast, the daily allowance for athletes was reduced by $30.
According to Shoaib Iqbal, deputy speaker of Delhi’s Vidhan Sabha, Rs11 crore was sanctioned by the central government and Rs29 crore was provided by the Delhi government for the ceremony.
He said several Bollywood stars, who did not even participate in the ceremony, were flown to Melbourne at the state’s expense and put up at a luxury hotel. Manisha Koirala and Pooja Bedi allegedly feature in this list of freeloaders.
Of the 70-80 individuals present at the India Night party, about 50 belonged to the film industry. The athletes were nowhere to be seen. Iqbal reiterates that even hairdressers, make-up artistes, and family members and friends were put up in the hotel with the stars.
“Though these stars repeatedly said they were glad to be part of Team India, they charged us huge amounts. I have a recording of Aishwarya Rai where she declares that she was participating solely due to her patriotic fervour. Nevertheless, she charged a whopping Rs3 crore to perform for a few minutes. While Rani Mukherjee charged Rs2 crore, both Priyanka (Chopra) and Lara (Dutta), who simply waved to the crowds, almost charged a crore each. Why did the government agree to these demands?” said Iqbal, who has also filed an application under the Right to Information Act.
Allegations against stars
- Aishwarya charged Rs3 cr to perform for a few minutes
- Priyanka, Lara took a crore just to wave to the crowd
