New Delhi: Bollywood’s drug scandal was the central focus of prime time debates Tuesday after the alleged involvement of actors like Deepika Padukone and Dia Mirza emerged in the probe by the Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB).
NDTV 24×7 was the odd one out with anchor Sreenivasan Jain choosing to focus on the political slugfest over the farm bills that were passed in the Rajya Sabha Sunday.
In ‘Reality Check’, Jain wondered why the government had not been able to allay farmers’ anxieties regarding the bills’ impact on the minimum support price. Farmers across the country have been protesting against these bills.
“Most farmers are actually alright with the decision and are busy tending to their fields,” Haryana’s Agriculture Minister and BJP leader J.P. Dalal said. According to him, there’s only fear among the big farmers.
Congress spokesperson Pawan Khera was quick to hit back and said that the BJP was trying to “spread confusion that the farmers were shackled under the APMC (the Agricultural Produce Market Committee)”. APMC is a marketing board established by a state government to ensure that the farm to retail price of a farmer’s produce does not reach excessively high levels.
“Show me one year, one month, one day in the last 70 years that the farmer was not free to sell outside the APM. He was always free to sell outside the APM,” Khera said.
CNN-News18 went the Bollywood way and zeroed in on the A-listers allegedly implicated in the drug scandal. Actors Deepika Padukone and Dia Mirza are reportedly under the NCB’s scanner based on some WhatsApp chats that allegedly indicate they procured drugs. Mirza has denied all allegations.
“There’s Deepika Padukone…we’re talking about Sara Ali Khan, Shraddha Kapoor, these are A-listers, not small-time actors, this is not restricted to one Rhea Chakraborty,” said anchor Zakka Jacob while the ticker ‘Drug Taint on Bollywood’s Best & Brightest’ flashed.
Manjinder Singh Sirsa, Shiromani Akali Dal MLA, chimed in: “The problem here is whether they will be taken to the task and whether these high-profile names that we’ve been talking about, especially Deepika Padukone and Karan Johar, will they be tried for these cases?”
On India Today, anchor Rajdeep Sardesai questioned whether WhatsApp chats were enough to indict the actors.
Sardesai pointed out that the NCB “is supposed to investigate the inter-state trafficking and the major drug mafias” instead of doing a “hit job on Bollywood”.
Former NCB chief B.V. Kumar noted that leaked WhatsApp chats and messages were not sufficient as proof of guilt in this case.
“The evidence that has been recorded from the people is the evidence of the co-accused, which is leaked evidence and cannot be proved in a court of law without other independent evidence,” he said.
On News Nation, anchor Deepak Chaurasia called the film industry ‘Gangs of Nashapur’ in his prime time show ‘Desh Ki Bahas’.
“Why are the big stars of the film industry now silent? Is narco-terrorism being supported by these artists and should people publicly boycott them,” asked Chaurasia.
Social activist Ritu Chaudhary demanded that people like actor Kangana Ranaut and Rahul Mahajan, son of late BJP leader Pramod Mahajan, should also be tested by the NCB.
Hearing this, Chaurasia replied in an accusatory manner, “I just saw that your Twitter handle has INC (Indian National Congress) written on it”.
BJP spokesperson Prem Shukla took off on another tangent and talked about how veteran BJP leader Subramanian Swamy had once accused Congress’ Rahul Gandhi of getting caught with drugs in the US.
On Aaj Tak, anchor Anjana Om Kashyap triumphantly declared that the ‘D’ in the drug chats, which had surfaced in the NCB probe, had finally been decoded, referring to Deepika Padukone.
“Has the trend of Bollywood drug parties been so prevalent that it has made everyone dependent on drugs?” asked Kashyap.
Throughout the show, clips of actors in a party kept being flashed on the screen. The headline ‘Dum Maaro Dum, Deepika Kahaan Kam’ was also frequently projected with visuals from her movies where she played drunk characters.
BJP MP Manoj Tiwari noted that “some people have committed mistakes” and the whole Bollywood is being painted as a culprit.
“I was shocked to know Deepika Padukone’s name. I never knew about such parties while being part of Bollywood. I know the Bollywood that worships Ganapati before shooting for the film,” said Tiwari.
Actor-turned-MP Navneet Rana acknowledged that the revelation was not a surprise to her.
“Every industry has this trend, rave parties are quite popular. Even the children of politicians consume these drugs”, Rana claimed.
WhatsApp chats are not enough proof! And these people voicing want to convince everyone that calling these actors and they will immediately tell the truth.