"I think Deepika Padukone went to JNU to grab limelight without investment," Himanta Biswa Sarma said.
Taking a dig at Deepika Padukone over her participation in the JNU vigil, Assam Finance Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Thursday said actors were in the habit of visiting disturbed areas to create controversies and get free publicity before the release of their films.
Mr Sarma, who is also the North-East Democratic Alliance convener and an influential leader in the region, joined a section of BJP leaders to claim that Deepika Padukone had visited the university to publicise her latest outing ''Chhapaak'' - based on the life of acid-attack victim Laxmi Agarwal.
"I think she had gone to JNU to grab limelight without investment.... Film stars are in the habit of going to disturbed areas and creating controversies before the release of their films. These are the kind of publicity campaigns (they resort to) when their movie is about to be released," Mr Sarma said.
The 34-year-old actor had on Tuesday visited the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) to express solidarity with the students who were attacked by a masked mob.
She, however, did not address the crowd.
Her visit polarized opinion on social media, where trends ranged from #ISupportDeepika to #BoycottChhapaak.