Veteran actor Paresh Rawal stepped out to vote in Mumbai on Monday as the fifth phase of polling for the Lok Sabha Elections kicked off in the city. And while at it, he opined that those who do not vote must be punished, and his remark did not go down well with netizens. But not one to back off, the actor got into a spat with an X user online after the latter took a dig at his controversial stance.
It all began after Paresh Rawal cast his vote and stated, "There should be some provisions for those who don't vote, like an increase in tax or some other punishment."
Sharing the video, an X user wrote, "Finally, someone is advocating for clear fascism and dictatorship -- Paresh Rawal @SirPareshRawal ji is asking people to vote," the user wrote, taking a dig at the veteran actor.
However, it soon turned abusive as the Hera Pheri actor responded to the tweet with an expletive. "Eh Mr Moron how do you usher in fascism or Dictatorship ? By democratically Asking people to vote?" he hit back.
After casting his vote, Paresh also stated, "Today you will not vote and then later you only be the one to complain about the government. Only you will be responsible. The person who did not cast his/her vote will be responsible. The government will not be responsible."
Prior to casting vote too, Paresh took to his X handle and wrote, "Bad politicians are not born. They are created. Created by the good people who go on a Picnic on Voting Day!"
A slew of celebs stepped out to vote in Mumbai on Monday and they also urged their fans to do the same and exercise their right responsibly. Among the first ones to vote were Akshay Kumar, Sanya Malhotra, Janhvi Kapoor, Shahid Kapoor, Rajkummar Rao, Farhan Akhtar and others.
Javed Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Emraan Hashmi, Ranveer Singh, Anand Pandit, Suniel Shetty, Dharmendra, and others also cast their votes at various polling booths in the city.
