The Indian Home Ministry has blacklisted Houston-based Pakistani event manager Rehan Siddiqui, who is associated with organising Bollywood events in the US.
In a reply to the Shiv Sena lawmaker from Mumbai, Gangapuram Kishan Reddy, the federal Minister of State for Home Affairs, said, "The Ministry of External Affairs has apprised that Rehan Siddiqui has been blacklisted on the recommendation of the Consulate General of India, Houston".
It further reads that the Embassy of India in Washington DC and Consulate General of India in Houston have been requested to engage with cultural bodies and bonafide "Bollywood affiliates" to ensure that the appropriate message is conveyed to Indian actors and artists so that they disassociate themselves from such anti-national elements.
The issue surfaced earlier this year when the link between Siddiqui's organising of Bollywood events and his funding of anti-India propaganda especially related to Kashmir had emerged.
According to officials, Siddiqui has been associated with organising Bollywood events in the US, something that had been highlighted by the Indian diaspora.