Working for migrants purely out of love: Sonu Sood
Mumbai : Catapulted to the national spotlight for his work in helping migrants reach their homes, actor Sonu Sood brushes off allegations that he is interested in politics and says he is doing what he is "purely out of love".
The actor, viewed as a messiah of sorts for migrants and also the unlikely centre of debates over his motivations and possible political leanings, has been arranging for transport for thousands of migrants desperate to return to their home states.
"I have nothing to do with politics. I am doing this purely out of my love for migrants. I want to help reunite them with their families," Sood told PTI.
He estimates that he has helped 18,000-20,000 workers to go back to their homes in states such as Odisha, Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand.
"I intend to work till the last migrant reaches his home. The journey has to continue in full force. No one should be rendered homeless. We want them to reach home safely," Sood said.
On Monday night, he was stopped outside the Bandra Terminus by police from meeting labourers.
The last days have been a ceaseless whirl for the 46-year-old, who came to Mumbai from Moga in Punjab and has made his mark in films such as "Dabangg" and "Jodha Akbar".
Sood has met Maharashtra Governor Bhagat Singh Koshyari who praised him for helping the workers as well as Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray.
He also came under attack from Maharashtra's ruling Shiv Sena MP Sanjay Raut, who asked whether the BJP had propped him to offer help to workers from north India, stranded in Maharashtra amid the lockdown, with the intention of showing the Thackeray government in poor light.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh backed Sood for his work for migrant labourers, stranded in the state with no work and no money in the extended lockdown to stave off COVID-19.
"I feel strongly about them because I came to Mumbai as a migrant. I boarded a train one day and landed up here. Everyone comes to a city with a dream of a better life," Sood said.