'Give Bharat Ratna to Amitabh Bachchan': West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee to Centre

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Thursday demanded the Centre to give Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian award, to Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan.    

"Although not officially, but from Bengal, we will raise this demand to honour Amitabh Bacchan with the Bharat Ratna award for his contribution to Indian cinema for such a long time," she said while speaking at the inaugural ceremony of the 28th Kolkata International Film festival.
 
At the event which was attended by some of the big industry faces like Amitabh Bacchan, Shatrughan Sinha, Shah Rukh Khan, and Rani Mukherjee, Banerjee said Bengal always fights with courage for humanity and for unity in diversity.

"This fight will continue. Bengal never bows down, never asks for alms, always holds head high," she added.

Former BCCI chief Sourav Ganguly was also present at the festival, which was inaugurated at the Netaji Indoor Stadium in Kolkata.
 
Speaking at the event, Bachchan said the Cinematograph Act of 1952 set out the structure of censorship as it stands today upheld by the Film Certification Board. "But even now, questions are being raised on civil liberties and freedom of expression," he said.

BJP's IT Cell Head Amit Malviya said Bachchan’s words couldn’t have been more prophetic since they were spoken in Kolkata, with Mamata Banerjee on the dais. "It is like holding a mirror to the tyrant, under whose watch India witnessed the bloodiest post-poll violence. She has tarnished the image of Bengal…," he said in a tweet.