Comments On GST In Vijay-Starrer Mersal Rake Up Controversy

The BJP on Friday took objection to what it termed as "untruths" regarding the GST in the just- released Tamil movie "Mersal", starring popular actor Vijay, and wanted dialogues on the central taxation to be deleted.

"The film producer should remove the untruths regarding GST from the film," Union minister Pon Radhakrishnan told reporters here. He said wrong information should not be spread through cinema and actors should not confuse people using the medium and try to derive political mileage.

Senior BJP leader H Raja also slammed the references to the Goods and Services Tax (GST) in the movie in his Twitter handle and said it only exposed the lack of knowledge of economics.

Hitting out at the references, state BJP state unit president Tamilisai Sounderrajan had told reporters in Chennai yesterday that "Incorrect references have been made in 'Mersal' about GST ... celebrities should desist from registering wrong information among people." Fans of the popular actor should not support such incorrect references, she said and favoured removal of the dialogue referring to the central taxation, rolled out in July.

"What do they (the filmmakers) know about GST and its economics... such incorrect references should be removed from the film," she added.

The movie directed by Atlee released on October 18, coinciding with Diwali festival.