Pushpa fire spreads in Assembly

Hyderabad: Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy on Saturday warned the film industry that the government will not permit benefit shows and hike ticket prices till his government is in power. He expressed anger at the recent Sandhya theatre stampede incident in which a woman named Revathi died while her 9-year-old son Sritej got seriously injured when the lead actor of Pushpa -2 Allu Arjun visited the cinema hall at RTC crossroads in Hyderabad.

Speaking in the Assembly, Revanth Reddy questioned the attitude of the Telugu film personalities who never bothered to reach out to the family following the incident. Calling it an inhuman outlook, he said forget about the film star, either the producers or any of the crew members from the movie did not have the heart to go and express their sympathies to Revathi’s family till now. He said the family with a paltry income had purchased the movie tickets for the sake of their son for Rs 3,000 per ticket since the boy was a big fan of Allu Arjun.

He said the entire industry which made a beeline to meet the actor after his release from jail did not go to the hospital, he said. While reassuring the government’s support to the film industry, the Chief Minister said the Pushpa-2 was given special relaxation in this endeavour. But now the government has decided not to allow benefit shows or give permission for special shows.

Referring to the arrest of Allu Arjun, Revanth said the law had to take its own course and that is what had happened.

“There is no special law for film personalities or politicians,” he said.

Regarding the arrest of the actor, the CM said BRS and other political parties had criticised and even posted trolls against him but none of them had the heart to call on the boy who is still not out of danger.

Explaining the sequence of events, Revanth said despite the denial of permission by the police, the actor visited the place in an open rooftop car and the crowds were uncontrollable.

“There would have been no objection if the hero had just gone to the theatre, watched the movie and left. But as he arrived people from nearby theatres also flocked to the spot and it resulted in a stampede.

In the melee, Revathi died while holding her son’s hand and trying to protect him. There was a stampede-like situation inside the theater as well.

Despite being informed about the stampede and the woman’s death, the actor remained unmoved. Initially, his bouncers did not even allow police officers to meet the actor.

It was only after telling them that they may have to resort to legal action, they could reach the actor.

“The local ACP told Arjun that the law-and-order situation was getting out of hand and they may be forced to resort to lathi-charge.

Even while leaving the theatre, he came out of the sunroof and waved at the crowds,” the CM added.