Govinda-Underworld connections revives other stars-underworld links

- Parinda news, October 20, 2005.

India TV channel beamed footage of a party where actor Govinda, now Congress MP from Mumbai North, is seen hugging gangster Chhota Rajan, once a close associate of don Dawood Ibrahim, hoping to embarrass the star turned MP. Govinda was elected to Lok Sabha from Mumbai North in the 2004 elections when he defeated BJP heavyweight and former Minister Ram Naik.

After remaining unavailable for comment for quite some time, Govinda denied any relationship with the underworld.
He said that that videotape about his alleged links with underworld don Dawood Ibrahim was nothing but a political "conspiracy".
He said the tape, aired by a news channel, dates back to 1988 or 1989 when he and other Bollywood colleagues were under pressure to perform for the underworld.
Govinda also said the CBI has already given him and the other artists a clean chit in the matter.
Even according to India TV, the footage was from a a party held before 1993. Dawood Ibrahim is wanted for his role in the Mumbai serial blasts in 1993. Govinda had not entered politics then.
There are indications that India TV omitted to show the footage of other Bollywood stars from the same videotape and chose to telecast only Govinda related footage.
Whether the channel will show the rest of the footage or not is unclear at the moment. It is an open secret that almost all Bollywood stars have hobnobbed with the underworld at some stage in their life. Parinda.Com is in possession of photographs showing Dilip Kumar with Haji Mastaan and Karim Lala, Jaya Bachchan in the house of Vardharajan Mudaliar, Shatrughan Sinha with Karim Lala. It is interesting to note that while Dilip Kumar was nominated to Rajya Sabha by Congress, Jaya Bachchan was nominated by Samajwadi Party and Shatrughan Sinha was made a minister during BJP reign.