Actor and host Shekhar Suman has continued targeting the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on his show, even after a business linked to his producer Dharmesh Sangani came under investigation by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), allegedly in response to an earlier video that showed him trolling the ruling party.
In an episode, titled “The Common Man”, of Shekhar Tonite, which was aired three days ago, Suman spoke of the state of India’s middle class and its relationship with the government.
“My friends, as you all know, the middle class is the honour and pride of the nation. It is the future of the nation, the backbone of the nation. The burden of everything is carried on their shoulders. If the middle class leaves this country, the whole country will fall apart,” he had said, going on to describe how the common man remains overlooked by those in power except during elections.
“Just like the season of aam [mangoes] comes once a year, the season of the aam aadmi [common man] comes once every five years, at the time of elections. Then the government closes its eyes and the common man goes back to work thinking that maybe the government has gone into a cave to meditate and contemplate our worries,” he said.
Days after the episode aired, the ED conducted searches at the premises of Kalanee Impex, a company run by Dharmesh Sangani, an associate of Suman believed to hold stakes in film production. The raid was carried out under the Foreign Exchange Management Act (FEMA) over undisclosed foreign assets and suspicious cross border transactions, an official said on Friday.
While officials said that Sangani came under scrutiny for allegedly operating undisclosed foreign bank accounts in Canada, the United States (US) and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and his links to the Shekhar Suman Film Academy are also being examined, internet was quick to point out that it followed Suman’s bashing of the state of affairs, suggesting that “free speech was a myth in India”.
Amid speculation on the action, Suman used his next show, aired 18 hours ago, to take another jab at the ruling BJP.
“These days, people from different political parties are leaving their own party and joining only one specific party: the BJP,” he noted, adding that the party should advertise itself as a dry-cleaning service given how often defectors join its ranks.
“I am thinking that if everyone has to ultimately end up joining the BJP anyway, then the BJP should put up a sign outside their main office that reads: ‘The finest and the most trustworthy dry cleaner of our country’,” he said.
The sequence of events continues to draw a wave of reactions online. One user summarised it as, “MORNING: ED raids Shekhar Suman’s show Shekhar Tonite’s producer. EVENING: Shekhar Suman rips apart BJP even brutally instead of being scared.”
Another compared him to other Bollywood figures, writing, “Shekhar Suman is a true superstar, unlike diffused so called super stars of Bollywood like Anupam Kher and Suniel Shetty who have reduced themselves to being slaves of Modi BJP and RSS. Respects for Shekhar for his unmatched courage.”
Some continued to frame the raid as an act of intimidation, with one user stating, “This is what real defiance looks like against a tyrannical govt that uses agencies, weaponises them to crush critics & opponents!”
“Shekhar Suman should continue his work, that is, exposing the BJP, the blind devotees, and the ‘Godi Media’. This raid was conducted to intimidate Shekhar and his team,” wrote another.
One user also acknowledged political disagreement while defending Suman’s right to speak, commenting, “I support Shekhar Suman ji. I may have disagreements with him politically but as a matter of principle, it’s true that this Government is trying to silence dissent and criticisms, mockery, fun infuriated speeches against its leadership. Comedy cannot be silenced.”
Journalist Ashutosh Mishra remarked that “courage he has, rare to see spin these days”.
