Mumbai: Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh on Thursday, February 5, strongly condemned the last‑minute disinvitation of veteran actor Naseeruddin Shah from a Mumbai University event, allegedly over his political views. Slamming the government, the SP MLA claimed that, be it Parliament or universities, the government is trying to restrict what can be said.
While speaking to IANS, Shaikh added that Naseeruddin Shah's long association with the Urdu language is not unknown, yet a subject like Urdu is being politicised, alleging that, "Shah is being targeted for what he says." He also added whether it is Rahul Gandhi or Akhilesh Yadav in Parliament, what they speak and on which issues 'is being regulated'.
What is the controversy about?
A controversy erupted when Shah claimed that he was “disinvited” from a Mumbai University's Jashn-E-Urdu event at the last moment, a move he linked to his political views. According to Shah, he was initially invited to attend Jashn-e-Urdu, an event organised by the Urdu Department of Mumbai University on February 1, but on the night of January 31, he was informed that he need not come. He also alleged that he was not provided with any official explanation regarding the University's decision to withdraw the invitation. Currently, there is no comment or clarification from the Mumbai University about the alleged claim made by Shah.
Moreover, the actor also alleged that the university later told the audience that he had refused to attend. "It's not really surprising they didn't have the courage to state the truth - that I 'openly make statements against the country', (if they were covert, I suppose that would be all right) or, at least, that's what a senior university official reportedly said.
In his op-ed, Shah also expressed concern over what he described as shrinking freedoms, the treatment of student activists, and the broader social atmosphere, invoking George Orwell's 1984 situation, and wrote, "not singing the praise of the 'great leader' is considered sedition". "This is not the country I grew up in and was taught to love. The 'thought police" and 'doublespeak' have been deployed in full force, as has surveillance," he added.
(With inputs from ANI)
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