Congress, BJP in war of words over filmmaker Sandeep Ssingh

MUMBAI:THE Maharashtra unit of Congress on Saturday levelled more allegations against film producer Sandeep Ssingh and raised questions about his proximity to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which has rubbished the claims and said the truth will come out in the ongoing Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) probe into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

When HT called Ssingh for a comment, his phone was switched off, and he had not responded to messages till the time of going to press.

In a series of tweets, Maharashtra Congress general secretary and party spokesperson Sachin Sawant said Ssingh had called the office of BJP’S Maharashtra unit 53 times between September 1 and December 23 last year. Sawant alleged that Ssingh, producer of the biopic on PM Narendra Modi, was also the only filmmaker to have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) worth ₹177 crore with the

Gujarat government for the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in 2019.

The BJP, however, termed the allegations “baseless”. Party leader Madhu Chavan said Sawant’s allegations are out of his “perverse political mindset”. “He [Ssingh] was allowed to produce a film on Modiji because he was an able filmmaker. How is BJP linked with his wrongdoings in his personal life? We would not back him if he is guilty and would want CBI to probe all angles. Even the Congress and its state government are free to probe all these allegations. Sawant is known for false, baseless allegations against BJP and its leaders,” Chavan said.

Sawant had on Friday, too, demanded a probe into the alleged nexus between the Ssingh and BJP in connection with Rajput’s death. Sawant had written to CM Uddhav Thackeray and home minister Anil Deshmukh seeking a probe into the drug dealing in Bollywood. He claimed Ssingh has links with BJP leaders from the state. Sawant had said it needs to be investigated if leaders had been shielding people involved in narcotics dealings.

Responding to Sawant’s allegations, BJP leader and former CM Devendra Fadnavis had questioned why the state did not probe the Ssingh angle. “The state police kept maintaining it [Rajput’s death] was a suicide. They should have probed Ssingh too. Now a news has come about how Sssingh was co-producing a biopic on the life of honourable Bal Thackeray a few years ago. What will Congress now say about that link,” he said. Deshmukh on Saturday said they are sending complaints about Ssingh to CBI. “I have received many requests and complaints to investigate the relationship between Ssingh and BJP and also regarding his connection with Bollywood and drug dealing. We are sending them to CBI for investigation,” he said.

SSINGH WAS AMONG THE FIRST PEOPLE TO ARRIVE AT THE ACTOR’S HOUSE AFTER NEWS OF HIS DEATH EMERGED