The Income Tax Department on Wednesday launched a raid at 22 locations linked to director Anurag Kashyap, producer Vikas Bahl, Producer Madhu Mantena and actress Taapsee Pannu in connection with a tax evasion case.
WhatsApp chat logs, emails, documents and computer peripherals were seized from various locations. Pannu and Kashyap who were shooting in Pune, have been questioned by the tax officers. According to the IT department, irregularities worth crores of rupees have been found in the ongoing raids. The IT Department during the raids found cash receipts amounting to Rs 5 crores from the ‘leading actress’. Since we know Taapsee Pannu was being raided, it stands to reason that the cash receipts have been recovered from Pannu. Reports have also indicated that Taapsee Pannu evaded tax to the tune of Rs 25 crores.
As the IT department carried out its corrective action against the aforementioned individuals, left-leaning liberals and assorted individuals have cried hoarse, jumping into the defence of the embattled celebrities and accusing the centre of unleashing vendetta against them for speaking up against the Modi government. Apparently, according to a liberal worldview, evading tax is completely kosher so long as the one committing it has disapproving views of the current dispensation.
Mathias Boe lobbying Kiren Rijiju to get the IT raids stopped against Taapsee Pannu
Nevertheless, many individuals have extended their support to Kashyap, Pannu and others, brushing aside the possibility that they might be guilty of evading taxes. One such individual is Mathias Boe, who is a coach of the Indian badminton doubles’ team. Boe, and who also apparently happens to be in a relationship with actor Taapsee Pannu, has taken to Twitter to urge Union Minister Kiren Rijiju to do ‘something’ about the IT raids going on against his girlfriend.
“Finding myself in a bit of turmoil. Representing 🇮🇳 for the first time as a coach for some great athletes, meanwhile, the I-T department is raiding Taapsee’s houses back home, putting unnecessary stress on her family, especially her parents. @KirenRijiju please do something,” Boe tweeted.
By highlighting the fact that he is coaching Indian athletes and is distraught at the current happenings, Moe is insinuating that he may not be able to dispense his professional duty with diligence if the raids continue at Taapsee’s houses.
While it is expected that any committed boyfriend would come to the defence of his girlfriend, what is particularly appalling here is that Moe is using his profession as the coach of the Indian athletes to lobby the Ministry of Youth Affairs and Sports Kiren Rijiju to get the IT department to back off from raiding Taapsee Pannu’s houses.
In fact, Moe’s tweet could even be considered as subtle blackmail, tagging the Sports Minister to get him to influence the IT department to stop the raids against his alleged girlfriend and asserting that he is not in the right mind while coaching the Indian badminton players.
Who is Mathias Boe and what is he doing in India
Mathias Boe is a Danish badminton player and former world number 1. He had retired in April 2020. He has been hired by the Indian government under Target Olympic Podium Scheme (TOPS) to specifically help three pairs – Shetty/Rankireddy, Rankireddy/Ashwini Ponnappa and Ponnappa/Sikki Reddy – qualify for the Olympics. Reportedly, Mathias is currently training Chirag Shetty and Satwiksairaj Rankireddy for the European Circuit which commences with the first round of Swiss Open in Basel.
Reportedly, Mathias Boe’s short contract is currently till the end of April and should a pair or more make it to Tokyo, the Dane will continue till the Games.
The Indian government should get rid of mentally weak coaches like Boe
A coach is expected to be mentally strong to impart the same skill to young athletes. Mathias, who seemed to be perturbed by the occurrences in his alleged girlfriend’s life, appears unfit to coach the Indian athletes. Instead, he is the one who needs coaching to keep his personal and professional life detached.
The Indian government should advise him to quietly do his job and stop interfering in administrative matters. If Moe still feels distressed that the IT department is raiding his alleged girlfriend’s house, which in turn is affecting his professional commitment, then the Indian government should not waste any moment in relieving him of his duty and scout for better coaches who are mentally strong and are unaffected by the vicissitudes of their personal lives.
The government should also send out a strong message to all the sports professional it employs that their job is to help and assist the Indian athletes to improve their on-field performances, and they should stick to their job. If they are found using their professional position as leverage to influence the legislators to interfere in the independent working of the Indian institutions, they would be instantly dismissed from their duties.