MP BJP leader seeks Sonu Sood’s help, Congress takes swipes

Bhopal, June 3

BJP leader and former Madhya Pradesh minister Rajendra Shukla faced barbs from the opposition and trolling after he appealed actor Sonu Sood to help migrant workers from his area who were stuck in Mumbai.

Sood has won accolades for arranging transport for migrant workers who are unable to go back home amid the nationwide lockdown for coronavirus.

Shukla, BJP MLA from Rewa, took to Twitter to seek the actor’s help to bring back some workers.

The BJP leader shared a list of migrants from Rewa and Satna districts of Madhya Pradesh who are stuck in Mumbai.

Sood responded positively. “Your migrant brothers will send to you tomorrow Sir, if I ever come to MP, then offer me Poha,” the actor tweeted back.

Poha is a famous snack, popular in Maharashtra and Madhya Pradesh.

Shukla later said that 55 of 168 persons stuck in Mumbai could return following his request to Sood.

However, social media users on Wednesday trolled Shukla, pointing out that the BJP is in power at the Centre and in Madhya Pradesh but its leader had to seek help from a Bollywood actor.

Opposition Congress also targeted Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan.

“This tweet by @rshuklabjp ji (Rajendra Shukla) exposes the bitter truth of MP. See Shivraj ji, former minister and presently BJP MLA from Rewa is unable to trust your government, then he has to take help from actor @SonuSood for the migrant laborers trapped in Mumbai,” former MP Congress chief Arun Yadav tweeted.

Referring to the state government’s promise to bring back every migrant worker, MP Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja said that Shukla had been a minister for many years in Chouhan-led governments, so he knows the reality of the CM’s announcements.

“That is why he sought the help of actor Sonu Sood, not from Shivraj ji, to bring back the stranded workers in Mumbai,” he said.

Shukla countered that the Centre and the state government has brought lakhs of migrant workers back, but “Congressmen are hiding in their houses”.

MP BJP spokesperson Rajneesh Agrawal said that about six lakh migrants have been brought back by the state government, in which Shukla also played a big role as a member of the BJP’s task force on the issue. PTI