A day after actor Amitabh Bachchan offered his apologies if his wife Jaya’s remarks had hurt even a single person’s sentiments, Maharashtra Navanirman Sena (MNS) president Raj Thackeray on Thursday withdrew his agitation and the ban on movies starring Bachchan family members.

“Everyone would have come to know what happens when the Marathi people come together,” said Raj, adding that though Jaya had apologised in an interview to a newspaper, the party had been firm on the stance that nothing short of a public apology would suffice.

“Though it was essential for Jaya Bachchan to apologise for her remarks, we have accepted Amitabh Bachchan’s gesture to issue the apology after holding a press conference as head of the family. This is a victory of the Maharashtrians,” Raj added and called on his cadre and associates to maintain peace.

Alleging that Jaya had spoken in Parliament on the issue of making Mumbai an independent state, Thackeray advised her to “stick to written dialogues and not say anything that comes to her mind”.

He also reiterated the statement he had made in a speech at a party function at Vikhroli earlier this year — in which he had said that personalities like Amitabh Bachchan, Lata Mangeshkar and Sachin Tendulkar are not bound by territorial boundaries.

“The people of the country see, watch and hear them. Amitabh Bachchan should not be hemmed in boundaries of territory. Keeping personal relations with anyone is his personal question,” he had added.

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