NDA MLAs oppose holding film benefit shows in Andhra Pradesh

Hyderabad Sandhya theatre stampede controversy sparks political debate in Andhra Pradesh over film benefit shows.

Hyderabad’s Sandhya theatre stampede controversy has reached Andhra Pradesh politics. Following a series of events surrounding actor Allu Arjun and the Telangana government, now several political representatives from the NDA in Andhra Pradesh question the need for organising benefit shows for cinemas.

Madugula MLA Bandaru Satyanarayana criticised the ‘benefit shows’ of films, stating that they are not useful for the society and are directly helping the film producers to increase their income. BJP MLA P. Vishnu Kumar Raju also echoed his statements.

Speaking to the media, Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju said that he had watched speech of Telangana Chief Minister A. Revanth Reddy in the Assembly. He said that law should be equal for all. If someone dies because of a person, then action must be taken against him/her, according to law, he added.

“Allu Arjun should have gone to theatre only with police permission and security. Why should poor fans die in stampede. How can the actor come on to the roof top of his car and greet his fans, when already a woman died due to stampede,” he questioned.

Mr. Vishnu Kumar Raju said that he is completely against the benefit shows. He said that when a regular ticket price is about ₹200 to ₹300, increasing it to about ₹900 or ₹1,000 in the name of benefit show from a cinema lover is very awful.

Before the two MLAs, Gajuwaka MLA & A.P. TDP president Palla Srinivasa Rao said that Telangana Intelligence department and film actor Allu Arjun should share the responsibility for the incident. He said that keeping in view the popularity of the actor, the police officials should have made arrangements.