We all know Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) is off the rails, But recently they outdid themselves. It all started with BJP Vice President Baijayant Jay Panda ‘exposing’ Bollywood celebrities who they say are working with Pakistan’s Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
Yes, you heard that right. This is not a throwback to when Hollywood was accused of colluding with the Soviet Union. BJP’s VP literally thinks Bollywood big-wigs have ties with ISI based on;
“Personal & business links of some Bollywood personalities with certain Pakistanis & NRIs with undeniable track record encouraging violence in Jammu and Kashmir,”
Came across shocking threads documenting personal & business links of some Bollywood personalities with certain Pakistanis & NRIs with undeniable track record encouraging violence in J&K, who have verifiable links to ISI & Pak army. I urge patriotic Bollywoodies to renounce them.
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) July 22, 2020
Limited Intelligence?
Baijayant Jay Panda didn’t name any names in the ‘Bollywood connection’ but encouraged ‘Bollywoodies’ to renounce these unknown culprits. Maybe his ‘intelligence‘ is limited or maybe he’s shooting blinds to crush dissent in the film industry.
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However, the source he’s citing is an Indian journalist’s personal analysis. His objective was to whip up nationalistic frenzy just for the sake of political support and votes.
An absolute must-read on Bollywood & its links to Pakistan's ISI. This article is part memoir, by a Pandit who grew up in J&K & escaped the community's genocide. But without bitterness, just rational analysis of the industry's underbelly, the Kashmir connection & the way forward. https://t.co/AePg4vyL3g
— Baijayant Jay Panda (@PandaJay) July 24, 2020
Now we all know that artists, especially film stars, collaborate all the time. Is that what they’re calling collusion? When will Bollywood artists start calling out their government for indulging in such witch hunts?
The BJP VP tried further explaining his statement on Arnab Goswami’s show.
Yes, he really is just condemning Indian artists for ‘creative links’ with Pakistani artists.
“We know in the past Bollywood has had funding from the underworld and has been linked to Pakistan. I had the impression that some of this had been cleaned up but clearly not all of it has been.”
Now Shah Rukh Khan, Ranveer Singh, Anil Kapoor, and Karan Johar are being wrapped up in this conspiracy theory. Indians shared photographs of Shahrukh Khan and his wife Gauri Khan with a California-based Kashmiri Tony Ashai.
https://www.facebook.com/upender.saroop/posts/600177427570074
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They are accusing Tony Ashai of being an agent to assert that Shahrukh Khan is one of the artists the BJP VP was talking about.
Meanwhile, Tony Ashai is suing the Indian media for these allegations.
https://twitter.com/tonyashai/status/1286186939809296385
https://twitter.com/tonyashai/status/1286532267926380545
It seems that Shahrukh Khan and others will always be vilified by Hindu extremists. The recent example, no matter how ludicrous it sounds, presents a very big threat to the superstar actor’s life.
