MUMBAI: More than 600 theatre personalities, including Amol Palekar,Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad and Usha Ganguli, have signed a letterasking people to “vote BJP and its allies” out of power, arguing that theidea of India and its constitution are under threat.
The letter, which was issued Thursday evening in 12 languages on the ArtistUnite India website, said the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are the “mostcritical in the history” of the country, New Indian Express has reported.
Among those who have signed the letter are Shanta Gokhale, MaheshElkunchwar, Mahesh Dattani, Arundhati Nag, Kirti Jain, Abhishek Majumdar,Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah, Lillete Dubey, Mita Vashisth, M KRaina, Makarand Deshpande and Anurag Kashyap.
“Today, the very idea of India is under threat. Today, song, dance,laughter is under threat. Today, our beloved Constitution is under threat,”they said.
The government has “suffocated” the institutions where argument, debate anddissent were nurtured, the letter stated.
“A democracy must empower its weakest, its most marginalised. A democracycannot function without questioning, debate, and a vibrant opposition. Allthis is being concertedly eroded by the current government.”
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“The BJP, which came to power five years ago with the promise ofdevelopment, has given free rein to Hindutva goons to indulge in thepolitics of hate and violence,” it added.
In an apparent reference to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, the letter statedthat he has destroyed the lives of many people through his government’spolicies and has failed on the promises he made.
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The letter does not refer to the prime minister by name.
“He promised to bring back black money; instead, rogues have looted thecountry and run away. The wealth of the rich has grown astronomically,while the poor have become even poorer.”
The letter asked people to protect the “Constitution and our syncretic,secular ethos” and vote “bigotry, hatred, and apathy out of power”.
“We appeal to our fellow citizens to vote for love and compassion, forequality and social justice, and to defeat the forces of darkness andbarbarism,” the letter read.
“Vote to empower the weakest, protect liberty, protect the environment, andfoster scientific thinking. Vote for secular democratic, inclusive India.Vote for the freedom to dream. Vote wisely,” it added.
Last week, a similar appeal was issued by celebrated indie filmmakers suchas Anand Patwardhan, Sanal Kumar Sasidharan and Devashish Makhija, askingvoters to “defeat fascism”.
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