Railway Police stops Sonu Sood from meeting departing migrant workers at Bandra Terminus

Bollywood Actor Sonu Sood who has been helping migrant workers and the underprivileged reach their homes amid the Coronavirus lockdown has been praised by his fans, peers and politicians as well for his efforts. Recently, Sonu Sood also found himself in the middle of a tussle between political parties after Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut criticized him.

Sonu Sood stopped from going to the platform

Now, according to sources, Sood, who came to meet migrant workers at Bandra Terminus was stopped outside the railway station by RPF (Railway Police Force) and was asked to return back. Sources said that the incident happened around 8 PM on Monday when a Special Shramik Train bound for Uttar Pradesh from Bandra Terminus was about to leave and Sood was prohibited from going to the platform. The Dabangg actor had to return without meeting the migrants, sources added.

Meanwhile, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh came to the defence of Sonu Sood after Sena criticized him. "Instead of lauding his work, the government (Maha Vikas Aghadi) has criticised actor Sonu Sood for his efforts to send migrant workers back home. The Maharashtra government should learn from UP and Karnataka on how to contain Coronavirus spread," he said.

CM Uddhav praises Sood's initiative

Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray on Sunday lauded actor Sonu Sood's initiative to arrange buses for stranded migrant workers. The actor met Thackeray at the latter's residence Matoshree in suburban Mumbai in the night.

READ | Raut taunts Sonu Sood for meeting CM Uddhav after accusing him of 'making govt look bad'

The meeting came on a day the Thackeray-led Shiv Sena launched a scathing attack on Sonu saying he was "enacting a political script written by BJP". Sena MP Sanjay Raut had wondered whether the BJP propped up the Bollywood actor to "offer help" to migrant workers from north India stranded in Maharashtra amidst the lockdown, with the political motive to show the Uddhav Thackeray government in poor light.

READ | Instead of lauding, Maha govt is criticising Sonu Sood for his work: Rajnath Singh

In his weekly column 'Rokhthok' in Sena mouthpiece 'Saamana' on Sunday, Raut questioned the sudden rise of "Mahatma" Sood on the social scene of Maharashtra during the lockdown. Raut also referred to a "sting operation" against Sood ahead of the 2019 general elections, saying he had agreed to promote the BJP-led government at various platforms through his official social media accounts. Raut faced flak from Opposition BJP as well as allies Congress and NCP for his comments.

READ | Sonu Sood has message for 'tweet & delete' netizens, calls out 'Majdoor fund' in his name

READ | Sonu Sood meets CM Uddhav Thackeray & Aaditya at Matoshree as Raut taunts his 'acting'

(With PTI inputs)