Samajwadi Party Member of Parliament Jaya Bachchan on Tuesday alleged that Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati was pursuing action against her husband Amitabh Bachchan to gain cheap publicity.
Her remarks came a day after the Barabanki district authorities issued a notice to the superstar accusing him of undervaluing the stamp duty on a plot of land he bought in the area.
"Mayawati is doing this for cheap publicity. The media gives publicity when she attacks Amitabh Bachchan," the actress-turned-politician told reporters.
"She (Mayawati) does so many things, she does not do things. Do journalists write about these things? But when she takes action against Amitabh Bachchan, you people write," Jaya said.
Additional District Magistrate (Finance) of Barabanki Shirish Dubey issued the notice, accusing Bachchan of violating relevant sections of the Indian Stamp Duty Act, on the basis of a report filed to him by Barabanki Tehsildar Anil Kumar.
The ADM (Finance) said that the cost of the land was Rs 843,639 but it was shown as Rs 6,000 less and accordingly the actor paid Rs 695 less in stamp duty.
The actor's lawyer Pradeep Roy dismissed the charge of paying less stamp duty as baseless and alleged that it was an attempt to malign Bachchan's image. A defamation suit would be filed, he added.
Roy said it was the responsibility of the district administration to assess the stamp duty and they should have checked at the time of payment.
The plot was purchased by the actor during the rule of Mulayam Singh Yadav in Uttar Pradesh and on January 27 this year, he laid the foundation stone of a girls' college there, naming it after his daughter-in-law, actress Aishwarya Rai.