by Anindita Sanyal
Shiv Sena leader Pratap Sarnaik has filed a Breach of Special Privileges notice against actor Kangana Ranaut afer she tweeted saying a Pakistani Credit Card has been recovered from him during searches by the Enforcement Directorate. The MLA has asked the Principal Secretary to forward his notice to the Privilege Committee for action against the actor.
Mr Sarnaik was questioned by the Enforcement Directorate for more than six hours an alleged money laundering case last week. His properties were searched by the agency last month.
The case was filed after Ramesh Iyyer — a former employee of Tops Group — alleged that in 2014, following a contract with the Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority for supply of 350 to 500 security guards, the firm provided only 70 per cent of the agreed number. Some of the money paid by the MMRDA went to private accounts of the accused, he claimed.
The Shiv Sena has called the Enforcement Directorate’s move the result of political vendetta. Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray said, “The Central agencies are working as if they are domestic helps of the Centre… People are intelligent and watching these developments”.
Earlier, during the monsoon session of the Maharashtra Assembly, a privilege motion was moved in the Legislative Council against the actor over her remarks comparing Mumbai to Pakistan occupied Kashmir.
Recently, multiple complaints have been made against Ms Ranaut over her tweets.
A Punjab-based lawyer has sent a legal notice to the actor for allegedly misidentifying an old woman at the farmers’ protest in the national capital as Bilkis Bano, who made headlines during the Shaheen Bagh protests as the “Shaheen Bagh dadi“.
The actor’s tweet, where she said the woman was “available for ₹ 100” — suggesting she can hired to attend protests — has also offended the Delhi Sikh Gurdwara Management Committee, which has asked for an unconditional apology. ( NDTV )
