Shiv Sena mouth piece Saamana hits out at Centre over IT raids on Bollywood celebs, says it’s to shut them

The income tax raids on the offices of vocal film makers and actor Anurg Kahsyap and Taapsee Panuu, respectively has enraged Shiv Sena. And both get a sympathy words from him, in their mouthpiece Saamna.

Saamna hits out at the Centre today’s edition. It says, they were raided as they had spoken against the government, like other directors and actors, and that’s why they all are paying for it.

The Income Tax Department raided the homes and offices of Bollywood actor Taapsee Pannu and filmmaker Anurag Kashyap as well as his partners who launched the now-closed production house Phantom Films, early this week. The searches, part of a tax evasion probe against Phantom Films, were carried out across 30 locations in Mumbai and Pune.

"Prominent among them are Taapsee Pannu, Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bahl and distributor Madhu Mantena. More than 30 locations were raided in Mumbai and Pune. Taapsee Pannu and Anurag Kashyap keep expressing their views openly," Shiv Sena sounded well informed in its mouthpiece.

Saamna also obliquely referred to those ‘A-listers’ who didn’t speak up during the farmers’ agitation but rather adopted a “bizzare” role but those who spoke up, like Pannu and Kashyap had to pay for it.

"But few people such as Taapsee Pannu and Anurag Kashyap stood in favour of the movement. They are paying for it," Shiv Sena said, adding, "The I-T raids were conducted in the context of a transaction made in 2011. These people set up a production house and this is a matter related to their tax. And therefore, it is clear that a raid was anything of a hurried up action to silence the creative fraternity in future too.

Saamana also mentions how actor Deepika Padukone faced severe criticism for visiting the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) following an attack on the students at one of its hostels.

"The disgusting manner in which environmentalist activist Disha Ravi was arrested and the manner in which commentary has been on the Modi government around the world disrespects the nation," it lashes out.

Almost mocking at Prakash Javdekar, the Union Minister, Shiv Sena in the write up, says what a “divine” information did he give to the public that his investigative agencies had full information and confirmed news of their tax evasion, so they were raided.

It also criticised at the Centre saying that it did have same information about three-four more such celebrities but as they kept their mouth shut, they were spared. “In the cine world, there are many people who openly criticize the Modi government. Many of them are direct beneficiaries of the Modi government, But outspoken people with strong backbone have to suffer," the write up asserts.

Saamna had a word of sympathy for the filmdom as it also said that shutting down of Bollywood had a major impact on the employment of the workers and its business during the lockdown. Therefore, this wasn’t just the right to avenge them politically. "When a big industry-business is in financial crisis, it is not right to make such attacks for political revenge.”

It said, "political revenge isn't right when the businesses in the cine world suffered” due to coronavirus-induced lockdown period. This is to be noted that Bollywood employs almost half of Mumbai for a short and long period when the industry is in flow.

That the raids are anything but an indication to all other outspoken creative fraternity to be in their shoes in future, is evident. The celebs, however, aren’t as clean either. Many of them do evade taxes. But a raid on them after a considerably long period, anyway, reeks of an agenda to quiet them.

Saamna was launched in 1988 by Sena Chief Bal Thackeray. Now it also has an e-edition.