Jaya Bachchan said, "People who have made a name in this industry have called it a gutter. I completely disagree and I really disassociate." (ANI)

A day after BJP MP and Bhojpuri actor Ravi Kishan said there is a drug addiction problem in Bollywood, Samajwadi Party leader and veteran actor Jaya Bachchan hit back, saying some people are biting the hand that feeds them.

“Just because of a few people, you cannot tarnish the whole industry… I was really embarrassed and ashamed that yesterday one of our members in the Lok Sabha, who is from the industry, spoke against the film industry. Jis thaali mein khaate hain usi mein chhed karte hain (they are biting the hand that feeds them),” she said in Rajya Sabha, without naming Kishan.

Her statement came even as the Ministry of Home Affairs, in reply to a question, told Lok Sabha that it did not receive any actionable intelligence of a nexus between drug traffickers and the film industry during the lockdown to curb the spread of Covid-19.

On Monday, Kishan raised in Lok Sabha allegations of drug use in the film industry that surfaced during the investigation into the death of actor Sushant Singh Rajput.

Bachchan said these allegations were being made to divert the country’s attention from real issues such as unemployment and the economy. “People who have made a name in this industry have called it a gutter. I completely disagree and I really disassociate.”

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Bachchan also said the entertainment industry was being targeted on social media. “At a time when the financial situation is in a depressing state and employment rate at the worst levels, in order to divert the attention of people, we are being flogged on social media and there is no support from the government,” the SP member said. She added that the entertainment industry in the country provides direct employment to 5 lakh people daily and indirect employment to 5 million people.

“I hope the government tells these people who have made their earning, name and fame in this industry to stop using such language. There are people in the entertainment industry who are some of the highest taxpayers (in the country). They are still being harassed. I think the government must stand by the entertainment industry because it always comes forward to help the government in whatever good work it takes up… If there is a national calamity, they come forward, they give money and their services,” she said.

In Lok Sabha, replying to a question on “Nexus of Film Industry in Drug Trafficking”, Minister of State, Home, G Kishan Reddy, said, “Narcotics Control Bureau (NCB) carries out search, seizure, arrest and investigation continuously throughout the year on the actionable inputs developed on its own and/or on receipt from other sources. During the period of Covid-19 lockdown, no such actionable inputs were received by NCB revealing the nexus between people in the film industry and drug traffickers.” Reddy, however, said a case had been registered and investigations were on. “However, a case in this regard has been registered by NCB Mumbai Zonal unit on 28.08.2020. Till date, in this case 10 persons have been arrested. Drugs such as Ganja, Hashish, Tetra Hydro Cannabinol and Lysergic acid De-ethylamide have been seized in the operation,” he said.

The case the minister referred to is in connection with the death of Rajput.

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