Mumbai (PTI): Superstar Akshay Kumar's mother Aruna Bhatia, who was admitted to a hospital here, died on Wednesday morning.

Kumar, 53, shared a statement on Twitter and paid tributes to his mother, who was in the intensive care unit (ICU) of Hiranandani Hospital. The cause of her death is not yet known.

"She was my core. And today I feel an unbearable pain at the very core of my existence. My maa Smt Aruna Bhatia peacefully left this world today morning and got reunited with my dad in the other world," the "BellBottom" actor tweeted.

"I respect your prayers as I and my family go through this period. Om Shanti," he added.

Last evening, Kumar took to the microblogging site to thank well wishers for praying for his mother's good health.

On Monday, the actor flew back to the country after his mother was admitted to the hospital. He was shooting for his upcoming movie "Cinderella" in the UK.

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Bengaluru(PTI): Chief Minister Basavaraj S Bommai on Wednesday termed senior BJP Rajya Sabha member Subramanian Swamy as a 'freelance politician' whose character and forte had been to speak against his own party and its leadership.

"You know well about Subramanian Swamy. Whichever party he is in, he is like a freelance politician. He says whatever comes to his mind. Based on his analysis, he keeps saying things," Bommai said during a debate on price rise in the Karnataka Assembly.

Bommai said Swamy spoke against the leadership of Janata Party and then Janata Dal as well.

"While being in the government, he spoke against the then Prime Minister Chandrashekhar. It is the character and forte of Subramanian Swamy," he said.

The Chief Minister's statement came as the Leader of Opposition Siddaramaiah quoted Swamy's February 2, 2021 tweet, which read, 'Petrol Rs 93 in Ram's India, Rs 53 in Sita's Nepal and Rs 51 in Ravan's Lanka."

Siddaramaiah quoted the sitting BJP Rajya Sabha member to point out the rising fuel prices in India and its cascading effect on other commodities.

"It's not me who has said this but Subramanian Swamy, who is a sitting Rajya Sabha member of the BJP. He was your father's (former CM Late S R Bommai) friend," Siddaramaiah quipped.

He even challenged the BJP leadership to sack Swamy if he was not right.

"I have no objection if the BJP leadership tolerates his statement. Don't forget that he is an economist and you have made him your Rajya Sabha member," Siddaramaiah said.

To this, Bommai agreed saying Swamy is genius in economics and the party gave him due credit.