Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mishra on Friday said there should be no objection to devotional Bhojpuri songs being played at railway stations in Mumbai on the occasion of Chhath Pooja.
Mishra, the president of the Mumbai BJP’s North Indian Morcha, was quoted as saying by PTI that parties such as the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena and Shiv Sena (Uddhav Balasaheb Thackeray) were objecting to such songs as they had a “political agenda” and had no real issues to raise.
The Chhath Pooja festival is being celebrated from November 13 to November 16.
The controversy
On Thursday, videos of Bhojpuri songs being played at Wadala and other railway stations were shared widely on social media. Leaders from the MNS and Uddhav Sena had criticised the Central Railway over the videos. Some commuters also alleged that regular train announcements had been suspended while the songs were being played, causing inconvenience to passengers.
However, Mishra said on Friday that this was not the first time that such songs were played. “This happens not just in Mumbai but at major stations across different parts of the country, whether in South India, Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, Bihar, or elsewhere,” he said, according to PTI. “Therefore, there should be no objection to this.”
‘Political agenda’, alleges BJP leader
The BJP leader further alleged: “However, there are certain political parties in Maharashtra that have been rejected by the people here. They have no real issues to raise. So, what issue do they turn to? The issue of North Indians.”
Mishra claimed that such political parties become “particularly aggressive” whenever a north Indian festival approaches. “That is their political agenda,” he said.
