Panama Papers leak: Congress wants Bachchan's head to roll

Demands his ouster as Maharashtra's ambassador for Save Tiger project, from advisory panel on an IFSC

Close on the heels of  mega star Amitabh Bachchan's name surfacing in the Panama Papers leaks , the opposition Congress in Maharashtra on Thursday vociferously demanded his ouster as state's ambassador for the Save Tiger project.

Besides, leader of opposition in the state assembly Radhakrishna Vikhe-Patil also made a strong case for removal of the star from advisory panel on the development of part of Bandra Kurla Complex as International Finance and Services Centre. 

Vikhe-Patil argued that it would be improper if Bachchan continues to occupy the two posts especially when his name has allegedly figured in the Panama Papers which are a leaked set of 11.5 million confidential documents that provide detailed information about more than 214,000 offshore companies listed by corporate services provider Mossack Fonseca.  

Further, Vikhe-Patil said the government should step in and drop Bachchan from two posts till the inquiry launched by the Prime Minister Narendra Modi in this regard is complete.

The Indian Express report, based on the documents purportedly received via a leak from a law firm in Panama, said that in the 1990s Bachchan had been a director of four shipping companies registered in tax havens British Virgin Islands and the Bahamas. Bachchan has already clarified that he has "never been a director of any of the above stated companies. It is possible that my name has been misused.''

Vikhe-Patil’s plea was countered by the BJP member Yogesh Sagar citing that it does not augur well to speak about Bachchan who is not only a leading star but quite popular on tweets with higher likes. The assembly speaker Haribhau Bagde however, ruled that he had already rejected Vikhe-Patil's  motion in this regard.