In a barb directed at Maharashtra Navnirman Sena chief Raj Thackeray, Defence Minister Manohar Parrikar on Tuesday said that donation to Army should be voluntary and not forced.
He said this in reference to the MNS diktat asking film producers to give donations for the release of films with Pakistani actors.
This comes after the political party reportedly demanded filmmaker Karan Johar make a donation of Rs 5 crore for the smooth release of Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in Mumbai.
“The concept is voluntary donation and not catching neck of someone. We don’t appreciate it,” Parrikar told reporters here on the sidelines of the naval commanders conference.
The Defence Minister said the concept behind the newly created Battle Casualty Fund was to ensure that all those people who wanted to donate voluntarily for welfare of the family of martyrs could do so.
“There will be a scheme managed by MoD with assistance from Adjutant General Branch concerned. It is a voluntary donation and therefore we are not concerned with anyone demanding something to be donated to that,” he said.
He said the Ministry is formulating a scheme through which all families of martyrs will be helped equally.
with inputs from PTI
