Maharashtra is by far the worst affected state by Coronavirus, and while a part of the blame can be put on the Tablighi Jamaat, there is no discounting from the fact that Uddhav Thackeray and his government have emerged as colossal failures at governance during such a time of unparalleled crisis. That the situation is even being called ‘unparalleled’ is a shame.
Maharashtra saw its highest daily jump of cases in the last 24 hours, of 162 cases, taking the toll in the state to 1300. Out of the 162 new cases reported on Wednesday-Thursday, 143 belonged to Mumbai alone, effectively showing how the financial capital of India has been allowed to go down the drain by an incompetent Chief Minister.
And while there is no sane mind which can pat the backs of Uddhav and his neo-socialist son, Bollywood has once again risen to the occasion, only to expose their cash-hungry souls.
It so turned out, that the ever aware social media users of this country noticed a peculiar pattern to the tweets of Bollywood celebrities, post Uddhav Thackeray’s address to the state on 4th April, and then again yesterday, i.e., the 8th of April.
Maharashtra Govt under leadership of CM Uddhav Thackray needs to be congratulated for handling the Covid 19 with clear directives. My salute .
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) April 4, 2020
Please read this thread!! ❤️ https://t.co/Sx9tuNc82C
— Parineeti Chopra (@ParineetiChopra) April 8, 2020
Thank you @CMOMaharashtra @OfficeofUT 👏👏👏👏👏 this thread 👇🏼 Pls read https://t.co/frQXCVx6i0
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) April 8, 2020
Speaking of Anurag Kashyap, the man also posted the following tweet:
— Anurag Kashyap (@anuragkashyap72) April 8, 2020
Where is Anurag’s ‘dissent’, when it is most needed? Why can he not muster the courage to ask legitimate questions to the incompetent government of Maharashtra headed by a muttonhead Chief Minister?
Well, here’s the answer.
They are all being paid to put this show up.
Uddhav and Aditya Thackeray have allegedly hired a PR company by the name of ‘Raindrop Media’, whose expertise includes running successful PR strategies for influential personalities, the likes of which include Kareena Kapoor, Priyanka Chopra, Kriti Sanon, Katrina Kaif, Abhishek Bachchan, to name a few. Uddhav and Aditya Thackeray being their latest clients.
And it must be admitted, the agency is doing a damn good job while at it, only that it is more than obvious that Bollywood is running an artificial PR campaign for the Thackeray’s.
Please read the thread. 🇮🇳🙏 https://t.co/0DFDXpGS26
— Sonam K Ahuja (@sonamakapoor) April 8, 2020
Thank you Sir for all the you are doing . We shall stand together and follow your words 🙏🏻 https://t.co/8vS0b3XiOV
— Hrithik Roshan (@iHrithik) April 8, 2020
Word! Thank you Sir. https://t.co/d3cHZQHSJc
— Ali Fazal M / میر علی فضل / अली (@alifazal9) April 8, 2020
Spoken. Like. A. Leader. Respect ! 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽🤩🤩🤩 Salutes to #UddhavThackeray #leader https://t.co/7VaPOT4dio
— Swara Bhasker (@ReallySwara) April 4, 2020
Sonam Kapoor, meanwhile, realised her folly and deleted her over enthusiastic April 4th tweet, heaping praises on the Thackeray’s, after the connection between them and Raindrop Media was revealed. It was a carefully coordinated PR strategy with Shiv Sena scion Aaditya even replying to Sonam, as he went on to explain how it was only their job and how they are doing the best they can.
Sonam Kapoor and Bollywood has Decided to Do PR for the State Government it seems!
Saturday Morning 10:40 AM – 6 Lakh Workers No Income
Saturday Evening 4:50 PM – Maharashtra CM Doing Good Job!
By The Way We have 661 Cases in the Maharashtra!#PRCampaign#Raindrop#Bollywood pic.twitter.com/p0S6TNPolZ
— Chandrabhushan Joshi (Modi Ka Parivar) (@MatruBhakt) April 5, 2020
These celebrities have sold their souls, only to be on the payrolls of a PR agency hired by the Thackeray’s. While nothing much should ever be expected of Bollywood, the least they could do is not capitalize and earn money on the backdrop of the nation facing a crisis, perhaps like never before. Yet, these individuals do exactly that! Almost every celebrity quoted above retweets a specific tweet by the “CMO Maharashtra” handle, and also sings glories of the same. This beyond doubt exposes a coordinated effort to fool the people into believing that Uddhav Thackeray is doing a brilliant job, which is an excruciating lie.
While Bollywood could have played a crucial role to maintain accountability and tighten the noose around the state government for its handling of the crisis, they instead chose to earn money from institutionalised apathy, by whitewashing the incompetence of Uddhav Thackeray and making him look like he is the best of the lot.
At a time when Maharashtra continues to battle the Pandemic spreading like wildfire under Uddhav’s nose, for famous personalities from Bollywood to indulge in cheerleading in favour of a clumsy government is indeed a larger statement on themselves. It shows how money can buy almost anything, from awards to ideologies.
