'India Is Secular': Bombay High Court Criticises BMC Over Removal Of Dia Mirza's Diwali Campaign Video
In Short
Bombay High Court uses its displeasure on BMC for removing the video of Diwali campaign by actor Dia Mirza from its public social media channels.
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'India Is Secular': Bombay High Court Criticises BMC Over Removal Of Dia Mirza's Diwali Campaign Video
The Bombay High Court on Tuesday "displeased" with the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) decision to pull pollution-awareness campaign video with actor Dia Mirza and issue a notice to the corporation to fix it. The court had urged the civic body to look into restoring the video as India is a secular nation and environment issues are not religion or community specific.
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale expressed "displeasure" that the celebrities' remarks during the BMC's initiative to spread awareness about the harmful impact of crackers on air and noise pollution.
The video was removed due to objections by Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde and BJP's Ameet Satam, who were against Mirza joining the campaign.
High Court Calls For Restoring The Video
In the hearing, the bench said it will be an ideal step to restore the trust of the public in the Constitution by restoring the campaign video. It stressed the importance of the spirit of unity in Mumbai and said that it was not to be marred by loose statements.
The court noted that the BMC has done a lot of things effectively by engaging celebrities in a public awareness campaign. The message of the campaign was unity, it added, and must not be a topic of factionalism.
"In our opinion, the BMC took very effective steps, and the celebrities conveyed a message of togetherness. We believe that when such a task was undertaken with such solemnity, there was no room for factionalism. 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," it added.
The court said restoring the video would be an appropriate step but the final decision on whether the civic body should restore the video was left to them.
Why the video of Dia Mirza was removed?
The BMC had launched a campaign to hook people onto the idea of celebrating Diwali responsibly and without firecrackers as they could impact air quality and noise pollution.
The initiative included several public figures such as Dia Mirza, Madhuri Dixit, cricketer Ajinkya Rahane and Nishigandha Wad also recorded their messages.
But Satam did not like the idea of Mirza's inclusion in the film and asked the actor why he was counselling people on how to celebrate Diwali. He said people do not require training to celebrate the festival, while their traditions were well entrenched in Indian culture, in a post on X.
After Mirza objected, the BMC took down his video from their social media without providing any explanation. The other campaign videos with Dixit, Wad and Rahane continued to be accessible.
Mayor Ritu Tawde too backed the move for the removal and alleged that Mirza was against Hindutva.
Dia Mirza Justifies Her Presence
In response to the outcry against her for participating in a public awareness campaign, Mirza asked the journalists why they criticized her for taking part in a public awareness campaign.
Speaking to news agency ANI, she stated that the video had been captured in the public interest as per court orders and asked that the steps for reduction of pollution be welcomed.
She further emphasized the need for joint efforts to address air pollution as a public health problem.
Political reactions to the controversy were not far behind, with the BJP stating that festivals were being targeted selectively in the name of the environment, and that Hindu festivals were being targeted. Opposition leaders meanwhile wondered whether the BMC had pulled the video down at the behest of the government.
The High Court's comments coincided with the controversy sparked by the civic body's decision to pull the campaign message.
