Sunny Leone has denied allegations of campaigning for political parties as she issued a statement on her official social media accounts after a sting operation done by Cobrapost revealed that more than 30 Indian celebrities agreed to spread the propaganda of political parties through their social media accounts for money, which they asked to be paid in cash, rather untaxed black money. In her statement, Sunny said that she will announce the news of promoting a political party if and when she decides to do so. She added that she is often approached for “different agendas by different people” but if she decides to “choose to promote anything political in life,” she will only “choose things” that she believes
Sunny Leone photographed in Mumbai
Read her statement:
Clarity !!!!!!! pic.twitter.com/tQ192e4J0W
— Sunny Leone (@SunnyLeone) February 19, 2019
Sonu Sood, who has also been accused in the sting, denied the allegations , saying that it is a “clear case of sabotage.” In his statement issued on Twitter, Sonu said that the discussions have been “wrongly reproduced and projected."
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Read Sonu’s post:
Truth shall prevail !!! pic.twitter.com/8ivfm9lqm1
— sonu sood (@SonuSood) February 19, 2019
Sonu Sood photographed in Mumbai
Apart from Sonu Sood and Sunny Leone, actors Vivek Oberoi, Shakti Kapoor, Jackie Shroff, Amisha Patel, Mahima Chaudhary, and singers Kailash Kher, Abhijeet and Mika were some of the celebrities caught on camera accepting the deal for toeing the agenda of a political party or endorsing it for money. The celebrities were caught on camera accepting the cash-for-tweet offer during a sting operation conducted by Cobrapost over a period of 3-4 months in 2018. Cobrapost, on Tuesday released the sting operation in a video documentary titled 'Operation Karaoke', in which actors, dancers, singers and models were caught accepting the offer for promoting political parties through hidden cameras. The reporters, acting as agents working on behalf of the Congress, the BJP or the Aam Aadmi Party, made an offer to pay 10-20 per cent of the decided sum in cheque or bank transfer, and the rest through cash, which the celebrities accepted. Vidya Balan, Raza Murad, Arshad Warsi and TV actor Saumya Tandon were the only ones who refused the offer. Celebrities were offered Rs 2 lakh to Rs 20 lakh per message according to their brand value. Some celebrities even asked the reporters-cum-agents for up to Rs 20 crore citing the sway they hold on Twitter. These celebs agreed to promote the party -- any which was proposed to them -- to create a favourable environment before the 2019 general elections. They swore to keep the entire exercise a secret and the agenda hidden.
