Hours after Shiv Sena MP Sanajay Raut slammed Sonu Sood for “enacting a political script written by BJP”, the Bollywood actor met Shiv Sena chief and Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray at the latter’s residence in Mumbai on Sunday (June 7) night.
“This evening Sonu Sood met up with CM Maharashtra Uddhav Thackeray ji along with Minister Aslam Shaikh and me. Better together, stronger together to assist as many people through as many people. Good to have met a good soul to work for the people together,” tweeted Sena scion Aaditya Thackeray.
Talking to the media after the meeting, Sood downplayed Raut’s attack and that he has been receiving support from every party in the country in his efforts to help the might workers reach their home states.
“They are also supporting it and it’s not about any particular party or anything… we have to support all the people who are suffering… every party from Kashmir to Kanya Kumari has supported me…,” he said, denying any misunderstanding with the state government.
In his weekly column in Shiv Sena mouthpiece ‘Saamana’ on Sunday, Raut had raised questions over the sudden appearance of “Mahatma” Sood in Mumbai to help the migrants during the coronavirus COVID-19 lockdown.
Raut hinted that Sood was working at the behest of the BJP and said that he would “soon meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi and become the celebrity manager of Mumbai.”
“It is being said that Sonu Sood transported millions of migrant laborers to his home in other states, and the Governor of Maharashtra has also praised “Mahatma Sood” for his work,” Raut said.
Raut said that Sood’s actions suggests that the state governments and the Central government have failed to do anything for the migrant workers and it was only Sood who was helping them go to their native places during the lockdown.
Notably, Sonu Sood grabbed everyone’s attention for transporting migrant workers to far off states such as Karnataka, Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh during lockdown. The actor has also launched a toll-free helpline to help migrants reach their homes.