SOURCE :- SIASAT NEWS
Mumbai: A civic campaign on eco-friendly Diwali has sparked a controversy after the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) selectively pulled down a video message by actor Dia Mirza from its social media handles following objections from BJP Mumbai chief Ameet Satam.
While Mirza’s clip urging people to avoid noise and air pollution was removed on Sunday, campaign videos featuring actors Madhuri Dixit and Nishigandha Wad, as well as cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, have been retained on the BMC’s X and Instagram pages.
The move came after Satam objected to Mirza’s video in a post on X, tagging the BMC’s official account.
“We don’t need lessons on how to celebrate #Diwali from @deespeak. Our traditions are deeply rooted in our culture,” the BJP leader wrote.
Within hours of Satam’s comment, the civic body led by Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide removed Mirza’s video from its social media pages.
The civic body had roped in celebrities for its campaign to raise awareness about pollution amid deteriorating air quality in the city following suggestions from the Bombay High Court during a recent hearing.
The BMC’s post accompanying Mirza’s video had stated that, in accordance with the High Court’s directives, bursting firecrackers on public roads, lanes and footpaths was strictly prohibited.
Opposition leaders, meanwhile, have criticised the civic body for taking down the clip.
Shiv Sena (UBT) spokesperson and former mayor Kishori Pednekar questioned whether the civic administration had “become a slave of the BJP or its Mumbai president”.
Satam’s interference in the civic body’s day-to-day functioning is increasing with each passing day, she alleged, adding that the administration should not have succumbed to what she termed the BJP leader’s “communal agenda”.
MNS corporator Yashwant Killedar slammed Satam, saying that if the BJP Mumbai president was so fond of firecrackers, party office-bearers should burst as many crackers as they wished outside his residence.
“Our Diwali can be celebrated even by lighting a single lamp and a lantern. Does the BJP approve of Satam’s brand of ‘hypocritical Hindutva’ that supports bursting firecrackers in the name of religion?” he asked.
SOURCE : SIASAT
