A Bharatiya Janata Party leader has announced a reward of Rs 10,000 per hit with a shoe for anyone who assaults filmmaker Sanjay Leela Bhansali for trying to change historical facts in his movie Padmavati. “They [such film personalities] are trying to distort our history to show us in poor light in public. We can no longer remain silent. We consider it our responsibility to rein in such forces”, Akhilesh Khandelwal said on Facebook.

Khandelwal, who is the chairman of the Hosangabad civic body in Madhya Pradesh, later told reporters that he did not regret announcing the reward. The Congress has demanded action against the BJP leader for the “provocative” post. “Saffron leaders have taken up the role of moral police,” a Congress spokesman said in Bhopal, according to Deccan Chronicle.

On January 27, activists of Rajput Karni Sena had attacked Bhansali on the set of the period drama in Jaipur, which eventually led the filmmaker to cancel the production in the city. The Film & Television Producers Guild of India Ltd condemned the assault as “extremely unfortunate, deplorable and totally unacceptable to the Indian film industry”.