Padmavati controversy: BJP leader Suraj Pal Amu, who announced 10-crore bounty on film's team, steps down as party media coordinator

As the heated controversy around Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Padmavati refuses to simmer down, Haryana Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) Chief Media Coordinator Suraj Pal Amu has stepped down from his post, as per TV reports. [caption id=“attachment_4233139” align=“alignnone” width=“825”]  Deepika Padukone in and as Padmavati (left); Suraj Pal Amu (right). Images via Facebook[/caption] Amu came into limelight when he had announced a bounty of Rs 10 crore on the head s of Padmavati makers. On 19 November, Amu had congratulated a Meerut youth who had announced a Rs 5-crore bounty for beheading actress Deepika Padukone and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali. He had added that he will reward the ones beheading them Rs 10 crore, and also take care of their families’ needs. While speaking to India Today on his sudden resignation on 29 November, Amu said that Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar has insulted Rajput leaders by not banning the film in the state. When the reporter asked Amu whether he still maintains his stand on the Rs 10-crore bounty, he completely took a U-turn and refused to have made any such threat comments in the past. He said, “Deepika is nation’s daughter and my statement was not directed towards her.” On his Rs 10-crore bounty remark, he retracted saying, “I have been a student of law and will always safeguard the Supreme Court’s decision.” Amu has been a Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) member since the age of 10. He hails from a Rajput family in Gurgaon’s Sohna town and is a law graduate, according to  The Indian Express. While he was a student, he was a member of the BJP’s student wing ABVP from 1984 to 1986. _Padmavati_ stars Deepika Padukone, Ranveer Singh and Shahid Kapoor; it revolves around the life and times of the 13th century Rajput queen Padmini of Chittorgarh, who had reportedly chosen self-immolation over falling prey to the evil clutches of the foreign invader and Sultan of Delhi Alauddin Khilji. The film was supposed to be released on 1 December this year but the makers decided to voluntarily defer its release owing to the surging protests and controversies around the film.