Expressing concern over the recent shocking disclosures pertaining to the alleged drug angle vis-a-vis Bollywood, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Ram Kadam on Wednesday demanded a debate on the issue in the upcoming Maharashtra Legislature session.
In a letter to Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray, Kadam said that there has been "a widespread and rampant" discussion going on concerning drugs and the Hindi film industry.
He requested the CM for a thorough probe into the alleged 'Bollywood-drug nexus' prevailing in the film industry coupled with the alleged narcotics mafia angle coming to the fore in the Sushant Singh Rajput death case.
Kadam contended that the youth in the state consider Bollywood figures as icons and look up to them for inspiration, and there is a long-lasting effect of the news which they watch on television or read on social media.
"This is extremely serious and no other actor or political leaders, who are basically icons for youth, should indulge in drug intake. Such political leaders and actors who consume drugs should quit public life," Kadam demanded.
He stressed the need to investigate the matter and come clean on the serious allegations, first leveled by another BJP leader Subramanian Swamy earlier this week.
Kadam urged Thackeray to initiate a discussion in the upcoming Maharashtra Legislature's Monsoon Session on the 'nexus of drugs being consumed and used by Bollywood industry' and take suitable action in the matter.
With the emergence of an alleged drug angle in the Sushant death case, the anti-narcotics department has initiated its own independent probe beside the ongoing investigation by the Central Bureau of Investigation and the Enforcement Directorate.
Simultaneously, the Maharashtra State Human Rights Commission has slapped a notice on Mumbai Police and BrihanMumbai Municipal Corporation demanding a detailed explanation on how actress Rhea Chakraborty was permitted inside the R.N. Cooper Hospital morgue on June 14, where Sushant's body was kept, hours after his death at his Bandra home.
Sources: IANS