JAN KI BAAT CONTENT HEAD SAGARIKA MITRA’S DETAILED PIECE ON WHY POLITICISING THE NCB’S CRACKDOWN ON DRUG MAFIA IS A DISSERVICE TO THE NATION
Members of political parties like Congress & NCP have come out in open support of Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan, this gives you a strong reason to believe that political parties, especially those in power in the state of Maharashtra, are uncomfortable with the NCB’s unrelenting crackdown on the drug mafia. Why is there this amount of political resistance? Well, everyone has skeletons in their closet and when it’s a neta-abhineta cocktail, the closet becomes an attic where deep, dark, dirty secrets are tucked away.
‘SAVE ARYAN’ OPERATION?
Ever since the news about Shahrukh Khan’s son arrest from a cruise rave party broke, IT Cells & troll armies became hyper active on social media. It started with members of Congress IT Cell saying ‘Aryan has been called in questioning, he’s not been detained’. Like being called in by the Narcotics Control Bureau for questioning with regards to a drug bust makes you less of a law breaker. Once the news was confirmed, their narrative shifted to ‘Why only Aryan? He’s being targeted for being a star kid’. An argument abysmally low on facts because Aryan Khan wasn’t the only one to be detained in the raid, 7 people who were either found consuming or having illegal drugs like cocaine, MDMA, ecstacy pills in their possession that night were picked up from that luxury cruise liner. The arrests have continued ever since.
Congress leaders like Salman Nizami officially joined the ‘Save Aryan’ campaign by tweeting with the hashtag #WeStandWithAryanKhan. Congress MP Shashi Tharoor too struck a sympathetic note and lectured the media on its trial.
Why is this problematic you ask? Because the Congress is in power in Maharashtra along with Shiv Sena and NCP. If the state government seems to create pressure on Sameer Wankhede & his team for cracking down on the Bollywood drug menace, it is highly problematic.
ARYAN NOT THE ONLY ONE TO FACE ACTION
NCB has been carrying out this ‘CLEAN UP’ operation for over a year now. In the last one year, celebrities like Arman Kohli, Bharti Singh, Firoze Nadiadwala’s wife Shabnam Saeed have faced action for drug possession & consumption. So the ‘Aryan targeted for being SRK’s son’ argument also fall flat
NCP OPENS FRONT AGAINST NCB, DRAWS BJP LINK TO RAIDS
But the strongest reason to believe a gigantic political coverup operation at play is because of charges levelled by NCP’s Nawab Malik. Not only is he a senior leader of Sharad Pawar’s party but also a Cabinet Minister in the Uddhav Thackeray led Maha Vikas Aghadi government. His son in law spent 8 months in prison after being arrested un a case that involved the recovery of over 195 kgs of marijuana. So, when he holds a press briefing to claim a link between BJP & NCB over the cruise party raid, the political vendetta angle can’t be brushed aside nor can the assumption that it’s an all out official defence for ‘King Khan’s’ 23 year son.
Mr Malik showed pictures from the raid to claim two individuals namely KP Gosavi & Manish Bhanushali have links with the Bharatiya Janata Party. He added that private individuals with links to BJP were roped in by NCB in their drug bust. It didn’t stop at that, the senior NCP leader went a step ahead and drew the Gujarat link, he said, one of the two individuals was in Gujarat meeting Ministers when the Mundra Port drug seizure took place. Wow! Just wow!
Be it in Mundra of Mumbai, the fact remains that anti drug agencies like NCB & DRI are working round the clock to dismantle the dangerous drug racket that consumes young Indians. It is shameful to say that least, that political parties are pushing these agencies to point where they have to stop their investigations and spend time in responding to political allegations.
Deputy Director General of NCB Gyaneshwar Singh along with Zonal Director of NCB Sameer Wankhede, held a briefing, gave details of the entire operation and categorically stated that the men named by NCP were INDEPENDENT WITNESSES in the case. Witness number 2 Kiran Gosavi & Witness number 3 Manish Bhanushali along with 7 others were independent witnesses who helped NCB in the operation.
Now to some basic fundamental questions
1) Was there a Drug Party at a Luxury Cruise off the Mumbai Coast?
Yes
2) Was Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan present at the drug party?
Yes
3) Was Aryan Khan the only one arrested from the drug party?
No
4) Were illegal drugs seized by the anti drug agency in the raids?
Yes
5) Did the NCB’s action stop after arresting Aryan Khan?
No
6) Were the two independent witnesses who are linked to the BJP the only INDEPENDENT WITNESSES in the operation?
No
7) Even if they are linked to the BJP, can’t people linked to political party be witnesses in a case involving a drug bust for the larger good of the society?
Yes, they can
7) Are all parties against Drug Abuse?
Yes
Now to the more fundamental questions which the NCB must answer
1) Why were INDEPENDENT WITNESSES acting like NCB officials, dragging Arbaz Merchant to the NCB office?
2) Were these INDEPENDENT WITNESSES onboard the cruise? Or did they give the NCB a tip off about the rave party?
3) Did the NCB give a mandate to independent witnesses to detain people? If yes, why?
ISN’T THE LARGER ISSUE WAR AGAINST DRUGS?
In my view, the larger issue – INDIA’S WAR AGAINST DRUGS, shouldn’t be watered down due to politics. The anti drug agency right now is working fearlessly, not letting the rich & powerful get away for drug abuse. This movement could be an inflection point in deterring the youth from getting into drugs. The conversation from ‘Dude, let’s do doobies’ could shift to ‘Dude, drugs could land you trouble’
WHO IS SCARED OF NCB CRACKDOWN ON DRUGS?
The party questioning & politicising the raid is alleged to have been soft on the underworld, is alleged to have links with underworld linked bollywood actors. It is the same party whose former state home minister allegedly ordered cops to extort crores from hotel & bar owners in Mumbai, it is the same party which gave the ‘missing’ Parambir Singh its blessing when was misuse his official position to hound a media houses & its journalists in a politically motivated case. It is the same party whose leaders ran a slander campaign against Sushant Singh Rajput after his death, it is the same party which did nothing after Sadhus were lynched in Party.
One is forced to ask this party – what are you so scared of? Why are you so unhappy with NCB’s unrelenting & uncompromising action against the drug mafia. You should laud them, you should support them, you should reward them for doing what at one point was unthinkable – action against the high & mighty & their spoilt brats.
SCARED THAT TRUTH ABOUT NETA-ABHINETA NEXUS WILL BE OUT?
Or is it Shahrukh Khan? Are you scared that if you don’t scramble to save his son, names of some politicians & their kids who abuse drugs may come out. All of us know that POLITICIANS & their kids are also part of Bollywood’s High flying party circuits. Are you scared that if Aryan cracks under pressure during custody he might name his drug party saathis? And those names make you uncomfortable? Or are you scared that Bollywood which for years ran on Underworld’s money may turn against you & reveal the political links?
Any attempt to derail NCB investigation in such a critical case should be opposed vehemently. MVA government must answer, Congress & NCP must answer as to why they are trying so hard to save Shahrukh Khan’s son Aryan Khan
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