On 2nd November 2022, former Bollywood actress and filmmaker Pooja Bhatt joined Rahul Gandhi in his container rally called ‘Bharat Jodo Yatra’ which is currently passing through Telangana. Pooja Bhatt joined the yatra in Hyderabad as she walked alongside Rahul Gandhi for some time on Wednesday morning. Pooja is the daughter of director Mahesh Bhatt and is the first noted Bollywood celebrity to join this Yatra.
Noted Filmmaker- Actress @PoojaB1972 joins the Bharat Jodo Yatra.
— Telangana Congress (@INCTelangana) November 2, 2022
The #BharatJodoYatra resumed from Hyderabad city in Telangana this morning .#ManaTelanganaManaRahul pic.twitter.com/JG5Ot4p6cj
It, therefore, becomes evident to recall the connection of the Bhatt family with hate preacher Zakir Naik and terrorist David Coleman Headley. Director Mahesh Bhatt had praised Islamist hate preacher and fugitive Zakir Naik while his son and Pooja Bhatt’s brother Rahul Bhatt was in connection with David Coleman Headley who had carried out the recce of Mumbai for Lashkar-E-Taiba before the 26/11 attacks in Mumbai.
Mahesh Bhatt praised Zakir Naik
Zakir Naik was denied entry to the UK in June 2010. Several videos of Mahesh Bhatt praising hate preacher and fugitive Zakir Naik surfaced online, ahead of the scheduled release of his film ‘Sadak 2’ on July 10. In one such video, Bhatt can be seen singing praises for the radical Islamist.
Mahesh Bhatt said, “At the onset, let me salute Dr Zakir Naik for daring to lock horns with the mighty British Empire… I salute his audacity which comes from his Imaan… If he had any grey spot in his heart, he wouldn’t have risked locking horns with these bullies… The world is becoming the most entertained and the least informed one… We, as Indians, owe it to our brother (Zakir Naik) who is national pride, (and) a prized treasure.”
He then went on a hysterical rant against the United States, United Kingdom (UK), and other Western powers and drew irrelevant analogies with the Persian Gulf War to substantiate his claim that Naik should have been allowed to preach in the UK. “They call Dr. Naik the warmonger but history knows who is the warmonger”, the director advocated.
He added, “Are you going to believe in the opinions of those people who have the means to lie, buy wordsmiths, get newspapers, have TV networks by their side to market lies, and hang a man like Dr Naik? I will say No.” Bhatt urged the Indian government to intervene, stand up for Zakir Naik and plead his case.
Pooja Bhatt’s father Mahesh Bhatt wanted to make a film on Zakir Naik
Mahesh Bhatt also expressed his will to make a film based on Zakir Naik. He made these remarks when he was speaking at an event organized by Peace TV. It is owned by Zakir Naik and fined £300,000 (around Rs 2.75 crore) for broadcasting hate speech. Mahesh Bhatt was invited as a guest on Zakir Naik’s Peace TV to address a group of Muslims. On being asked whether he would feature the hate preacher in his films, Bhatt stated, “The life of Zakir Saheb is a fascinating story in itself. It contains material for a feature film. I don’t know whether Zakir Naik will want to play the role of a hero in the movie. We can find someone to play his role, provided he gives me permission to do so. Please get the idea approved from him and then only I can make a film.”
Pooja Bhatt’s brother Rahul Bhatt was in contact with 26/11 terrorist
It may be noted that David Coleman Headley, an accused in the Mumbai terror attack case, was reportedly a close associate of Rahul Bhatt, Mahesh Bhatt’s son. As per reports, a day prior to the deadly Mumbai attack in 2008, Headley had warned Bhatt and asked him not to go to South Mumbai on 26th November 2008, the day of the attack.
With Pooja Bhatt throwing her weight behind Rahul Gandhi in his Bharat Jodo Yatra, eyebrows are raised as her father openly provided an intellectual cover to a fugitive hate-preaching Islamist and her brother was reportedly known to be in contact with a terrorist who reconnoitred Mumbai before the 26/11 terror attack.
