New Delhi, 03 November—Underscoring that India is a secular country, the Bombay High Court today asked the Mumbai’s civic body to re-upload cine actress Dia Mirza’s video clip in which she had campaigned BMC’s eco-friendly and firecracker-free Diwali while expressing court’s “deep pain and displeasure”.
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale expressed anguish over the “petty mindset” of certain persons, especially those who are representatives of the common man. It was “most unfortunate” that such a colour was given to a video made to spread awareness about the environment and air and noise pollution, the HC said coming down sternly over elected representatives.
The court further said the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) commissioner was absolutely correct in the selection of celebrities to spread awareness and it was unfortunate that other unnecessary issues were taken up.
The bench directed the civic body to re-upload the clip of Mirza deleted on Monday pursuant to the objections raised by some BJP leaders and Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde.
In an awareness video for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, the 44-year-old actor had appealed to the public, citing a High Court order, not to burst firecrackers on public roads.
While Mirza’s video was pulled down hours after the Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam objected to it, several other videos by celebrities like Madhuri Dixit and cricketer Ajinkya continue to be on the social media handles of the civic body.
It sounded a note of caution to those who raised the objections and said there has to be respect for every person in the community irrespective of their religion, caste and creed.
“There has to be a secular spirit, and the Constitution expects citizens to foster the same. If the clip was taken off, then it would be ideal that the same should be re-uploaded,” the court said.
A city like Mumbai survives on togetherness and a strong feeling of belonging to society, and this ought not be disturbed by any “loose comments”, it said.
“We have not seen any politician or any person who made remarks yesterday put up videos spreading awareness. We are a secular country. We are really hurt by this. The issue pertains to the environment and every person, irrespective of their religion and caste, is breathing the same air,” the HC said.
This is not expected from people holding public posts, the court said, adding that the BMC too ought not to have deleted the clip of Mirza after the controversy and asked the civic body to re-upload the actor’s video.
Veteran Journalist and Political Commentator
