‘I-T action against Sood to boomerang on BJP’

MUMBAI: The Shiv Sena has attacked the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) over the Income-Tax (I-T) department’s searches on the properties owned by actor Sonu Sood on Wednesday. The Sena has said that action against the actor was initiated after Sood was appointed as the brand ambassador of Delhi government’s ”Desh ka mentors” programme.

An editorial in Sena mouthpiece said such “narrow mindedness” will boomerang on the BJP. Party’s chief spokesperson Sanjay Raut said the BJP had supported the actor during the first wave of Covid-19 when he had helped migrants reach their hometowns, but when he was made the brand ambassador of Arvind Kejriwal government’s programme, I-T action was initiated against him.

“The greatness of the rulers lies in respecting those with opposing views, even if there is a (non-BJP party) Opposition party in power in the states or people with contrasting views. Making false allegations against ministers and delaying the appointment of 12 persons to the legislative Council in Maharashtra as well as the I-T department searches on Sood are signs of narrow mindedness and such a childish game will boomerang on them [BJP] one day,” the editorial said.

Raut said when Sood was helping people, the BJP was appreciative of his work and had questioned the Sena-led Maharashtra

Vikas Aghadi government why it was not able to do what the actor was doing for migrants. “The BJP was at the forefront in lauding Sood’s work and constantly projected that he was ’our man’. But when Sood decided to do social work as the brand ambassador of the Kejriwal government’s educational programme, I-T department’s action on his premises started,” the editorial added.

As a policy, state BJP unit does not respond to Saamana editorials .