PoliticsStates
Dia Mirza should make a video on loudspeakers too, says Maharashtra minister Sanjay Shirsat
Hours after the Bombay High Court told the BMC to restore the actor's eco-friendly Diwali clip, the Shiv Sena minister asked if she had the courage to take on noise that runs all year.
Key points
- Minister Sanjay Shirsat said Dia Mirza should make a video on loudspeaker noise.
- He asked why anyone should 'give gyan' on firecrackers.
- The Bombay High Court had earlier ordered the BMC to restore her deleted Diwali clip.
Maharashtra’s Social Justice Minister Sanjay Shirsat waded into the row over Dia Mirza’s Diwali video on Tuesday night, saying the actor should make another video on loudspeaker noise, a remark that appeared aimed at loudspeakers on mosques.
“People know that they should not burst crackers, so why give ‘gyan’ on the issue?” the Shiv Sena minister told reporters in Mumbai. “Loudspeakers that blare all 365 days should stop. Do you have the courage to do so? Doesn’t it cause noise pollution?”
Shirsat said Mirza deserved credit for trying to reform society, but should be alert to the issues around her. Anyone who made such suggestions was labelled communal, he complained, adding that all religions must follow the Constitution. “The law which applies to us applies to all,” he said. Asked about Aaditya Thackeray’s criticism, he shot back: “What does Aaditya know?”
The court steps in
His remarks came hours after the Bombay High Court took up the matter on its own. A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale expressed “deep pain and displeasure” at the political objections to the clip, called the colouring of the video “most unfortunate” and directed the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation to re-upload it.
The BMC had removed the clip after Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam objected and Mayor Ritu Tawde called the actor “anti-Hindu”. Campaign videos featuring Madhuri Dixit, Nishigandha Wad and Ajinkya Rahane stayed online throughout. Shirsat’s comments suggest the ruling alliance is in no mood to let the row die down after the court’s rebuke.