Forget Goody, hear Hema Malini

GOODY ACT? Hema Malini's alleged diatribe against non-Marathi Mumbaikars has landed her in a major row.

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Mumbai: Bollywood actor-turned-politician Hema Malini almost did a Jade Goody on Wednesday and landed in a major political controversy after she launched a diatribe against the non-Marathi Mumbaikars, telling them to leave the tinsel town "if they have any problems staying here".

In comments attributed to her — which comes in the wake of the much slammed racist slur by Celebrity Big Brother star Jade Goody against Shilpa Shetty — Hema Malini said: "If the migrants feel they have problems staying in Mumbai, then they can go back."

Hema Malini was electioneering for the February 1 local corporation elections when she was asked at a meeting about north Indians not being happy with the treatment given to them. "If they have a problem, they should go back," she allegedly replied.

Reacting to the remarks, Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee spokesperson Husain Dalwai said: "She should remember that she is an MP first and then an actor" before making such "irresponsible statement."

"She should also remember that her husband (actor-MP Dharmendra) is a north Indian and her children are also half-north Indian," he told PTI.

With the BMC elections round the corner, Hema Malini's comments sparked off a huge controversy with her political rivals and discerning Mumbaikars criticising it as "irresponsible behaviour" by a responsible actor-politician.

While the Rajya Sabha MP from Bharatiya Janata Party didn't target any specific migrant group, her comments were seen to be directed mainly at the north Indian population based in India's commercial capital.

Mumbai has a large population of north Indians, especially those hailing from Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, apart from having a significant number of migrant population from different southern states.

However, what has puzzled political observers here is the fact that Hema Malini's comments came at a time when the BJP-Shiv Sena combine is trying hard to woo the significant north Indian vote bank in the city for the upcoming BMC elections.

The BJP and the Shiv Sena even organised a function in Mumbai to celebrate the establishment of the state of Uttar Pradesh on January 24.

The Sena also recently organised a ‘Lai Chana’ programmes to woo the north Indian voters. Even Sena supremo Bal Thackeray recently called upon his partymen to revive the ‘Mee Mumbaikar’ campaign, which the party had launched on the eve of the Assembly polls in 2003 to woo the north Indians.

Hema Malini, along with Dharmendra and others like Shaina NC, Smriti Irani and Dara Singh are likely to be the star campaigners in the BJP's election campaign for the BMC polls.

BJP insiders also claim that the newly-emerged Hindu Hridaysamrat and Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi is also likely to be in Mumbai to address campaign rallies.