Mumbai: The Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) on Friday criticised actor Rekha for allegedly forcing the state government to change the name of the Raj Kapoor Lifetime Achievement Award, which she had been named for.

The Raj Thackeray-led party is now demanding that the award be withdrawn because Rekha 'insulted' the state government. It has also threatened to stall the award function in Pune on Saturday if the demand is not met.

The name of the award had to be changed to the Raj Kapoor Pratibha Gourav after the actor conveyed her displeasure on the term 'lifetime achievement'.

"Rekha has accepted several lifetime achievement awards from Filmfare and FICCI. Then why is she ashamed to accept the award from the Maharashtra government?" asked Amey Khopkar, president, Maharashtra Navnirman Chitrapat Karmachari Sena, MNS' film wing.

"She has insulted the state government by refusing to accept the award as it is. A policy should be framed to ensure that government awards are conferred only on actors from the Marathi film industry," he added.

Sanad Mane, a member of Association of Motion Pictures and TV Programme Producers, questioned Rekha's contribution to the film industry and Maharashtra. "She should be given a 'lifetime self-achievement award'," he quipped.

However, Ajay Sarpotdar, a member of the jury that nominated Rekha for the award, asserted that she had no connection with the name change. "When the award was announced, Rekha said that she hadn't retired yet. We explained to her that the award was meant for her contribution to the film industry and it was presented to Rajnikanth and Gulzar earlier. She was convinced and did not insist on changing the award's name," he explained.

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