Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday in his ‘Saamna’ Editorial appeared to hit out at Bollywood actor Sonu Sood over his helping the migrant workers.
Targeting the praise that the actor has been receiving for his act, Raut wrote that during the lockdown period, a new “Mahatma” named Sonu Sood has come all of a sudden. He wrote, “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 this suggests that no action is being taken by the state and centre, while questioning how the actor was getting buses amid the lockdown.
The leader further questioned the rescue operations, writing that if the states were not allowing in migrant workers, where the people were going.
The actor had met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari at Raj Bhavan on May 31 to discuss the initiatives around helping migrant workers reach their home states.
Earlier, Uttarakhand Chief Minister Trivendra Singh Rawat on Saturday expressed gratitude to ‘Dabangg’ actor Sonu Sood for sending back migrants who were stranded in Mumbai and said that he will always remain grateful to him for his help.
मैं @sonusood जी का हार्दिक आभार व्यक्त करता हूँ की उन्होंने अपने स्वयं के प्रयासों से मुंबई और आसपास के इलाक़ों में उत्तराखंड के शेष बचे प्रवासियों-जो किसी कारणवश पहले वापिस नहीं आ पाए थे-को उनके घर भेजने का प्रबंध किया। आपके इस सहयोग के लिए हम आपके सदैव आभारी रहेंगे। pic.twitter.com/iU3LZVZWVB
— Trivendra Singh Rawat (@tsrawatbjp) June 6, 2020
Taking to Twitter, Rawat lauded the actor for his exemplary work for arranging the safe air travel for people, who were stuck in Mumbai and nearby areas, but could not return their home state on their own.
“I express my heartfelt gratitude to Sonu Sood ji for arranging to send the remaining migrants of Uttarakhand stuck in Mumbai and surrounding areas – who had not been able to return before due to any reason – to their homes in their own efforts. We will always be grateful to you for this cooperation,” the tweet read.
He also gave an invitation to the actor to visit the state once COVID-19 situation normalises and has extended his full support for the actor’s future endeavours.
The 46-year-old actor who is known for his roles in films like ‘Singh is Kinng,’ ‘Simmba’ and ‘Dabangg’ is being hailed all over the media for arranging hassle-free passage of migrant labourers to their respective homes.
Hundreds of thousands of migrant labourers have been stranded in urban areas with no livelihood and very little to survive during the COVID-19-induced lockdown forcing them to take to the path of their native places on foot.
Last month, the Central government organised safe travel of these migrant labourers to their native places through Shramik special trains.
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