Nawab Malik said Uddhav Thackeray had told him that he is concerned about the film industry's image
Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray would write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi over the portrayal of Bollywood in a bad light in the wake of recent raids by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) which could affect the livelihood of the people dependent on that industry, NCP leader and minister Nawab Malik said today.
Speaking to reporters, Mr Malik said he had apprised the chief minister and state Home Minister Dilip Walse Patil about the current happenings.
"CM Thackeray informed me that he is concerned about the image of the Hindi film industry being portrayed in such a negative way. He is going to write a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi regarding this. The drug haul cases have maligned the image of the film industry," said Mr Malik.
The NCP spokesperson has levelled a string of allegations against NCB's Mumbai zonal director Sameer Wankhede and the raids conducted by the federal anti-drug agency, including the one on a cruise ship off the Mumbai coast in which Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan's son Aryan Khan was arrested.
"The chief minister's concerns are not about only 3-4 actors in the industry. After Hollywood, Bollywood is the biggest film industry. It offers jobs and employment to lakhs of people. If the industry is portrayed in a bad light, people could lose their livelihood. Hence the chief minister is going to write about it to PM Modi," Mr Malik said, adding that the film industry's contribution to the country's GDP is around 3-4 per cent.
Responding to a query, Mr Malik said no discussion was held during his meetings with the CM and Walse Patil about the caste certificate of Sameer Wankhede.
Mr Malik had released a purported birth certificate of Wankhede and claimed that his father's actual name is Dawood Wankhede and not Dnyandev Wankhede, which he had dropped after converting to Islam.
Sameer Wankhede had denied all allegations.
When asked if the Maharashtra government is planning to initiate any legal action against Mr Wankhede, Mr Malik said he was told by the CM that some people have already lodged complaints against Sameer Wankhede for allegedly forging his caste certificate to get a job under quota in a central investigation agency.
"Once FIR is lodged, details of how persons like Kiran Gosavi would collect money from the people and details of their operations would come out," he added.
He said the complaint is not against any individual but about the incident (raid by the NCB) that had taken place on the cruise liner.
"The probe will throw some light on how NCB officials are handling the case when the witness (panch) is absconding," the minister said.
Commenting on the allegations raised by him against Sameer Wankhede regarding his birth certificate, Mr Malik said, "Some activists working for the rights of SCs and STs have sought details. They will raise the issue at an appropriate forum. I am personally not interested in anyone's religion or caste. But, by producing a bogus certificate he has denied a job to a genuine candidate."
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