Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Monday jumped in to defend Bollywood Actor Sonu Sood and slammed Shiv Sena for its remarks against the actor. Sood has received unparalleled praise and media coverage over his efforts to send the stranded migrant workers and labourers to their respective homes during the lockdown.
However, Shiv Sena's Sanjay Raut earlier associated Sood with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and said that the actor’s campaign was backed the opposition party to create an image that the Maharashtra government was doing nothing for the stranded migrants.
Raut, the executive editor of ‘Saamana’, in his Sunday column ‘Rokhtok’, labelled Bollywood Actor Sonu Sood as a stooge of the BJP and said that he is likely to be the future star campaigner of the saffron party.
While speaking at ‘Jan Samvad’ rally, the Union Minister criticised Shiv Sena for its remarks against Sood and said that the actor deserved credit and not criticism for helping the stranded migrants.
“Instead of appreciating the good work done by Sonu Sood to help the stranded migrants reach their respective homes, the Maharashtra government was critiquing him,” Singh said.
It is interesting to note that apart from helping migrants stuck in Mumbai, Sood has also extended his support to Delhi BJP’s Mission Anivarya, a scheme for distributing sanitary pads among underprivileged women amid the lockdown in the wake of coronavirus pandemic.
Hours after Sena’s criticism, Sood met Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on the same day along with state Environment Minister Aaditya Thackeray and state Fisheries Minister Aslam Shaikh at Matoshree to discuss.
This was criticised by senior BJP leader Devendra Fadnavis on Monday who said that the actor should be appreciated by the state government for his efforts to help thousands of stranded migrants and not abused.
Singh also attacked the Maharashtra government over the handling of COVID-19 and said that it should learn to contain the spread of coronavirus from Uttar Pradesh and Karnataka.
“When I see a COVID-19 patient waiting for an ambulance for more than 16 hours, I wonder whether the government exists in Maharashtra,” he said.
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