Actor Sameer Soni on Wednesday asked what may have been the response from the BJP government if the attack on school bus in Haryana was carried out by Muslim group.
“Rahul, I have a simple question for you. It’s not about the film. It’s not about the culture. It’s about law and order. It’s about giving people safety. I want to ask you one thing. If this, instead of Karni Sena, was an Islamic group, would you take any action or not? You answer that question to me today.
“If this was an Islamic group, who was fighting for an Islamic right, would you say we will let law take (inaudible),” Soni said on Republic TV on Wednesday night while addressing activist Rahul Easwar. The channel was debating the shameful act of Karni Sena goons, who had attacked a school bus before setting a Haryana Roadways bus on fire.
The video of the school bus with frightened children crying and crouching inside the bus as the Hindutva goons vandalised the bus, had gone viral.
Soni, who had previously confessed to being a proud Hindu, a supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP, has been opposed to the shenanigans of Rajput Karni Sena, a militant Hindutva group, known for its thuggery.
Soni had recently told website that he disagreed with the BJP-governed states such as Haryana, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan and Gujarat to ban Padmaavat.
“I totally disagree with that. If the states do ban the film, then there should be no censor board. If a state decides what can be shown or not then what is the role of the CBFC? They (CBFC members) should then retire and go somewhere else,” Soni was quoted by India Bloom website.
Padmaavat releases on 25 January (today) across India. The Supreme Court has already quashed the ban imposed by the four BJP-governed states. Prime Minister Narendra Modi has not commented on the controversy or the latest attack on a school bus.
The opposition parties’ role too has been questionable with the leaders of AAP and Congress merely expressing their outrage on social media platforms. Congress President Rahul Gandhi had tweeted without explicitly condemning the Karni Sena goons, “There will never be a cause big enough to justify violence against children. Violence and hatred are the weapons of the weak. The BJP’s use of hatred and violence is setting our entire country on fire”
Actor Prakash Raj rightly questioned the diplomatic reaction of the opposition parties when he tweeted this, “Children of my country shiver with fear and cry….as karni Sena attacks a school bus….The elected Government looks the other way..The opposition party diplomatically reacts…aren’t u all ashamed to trade our children’s safety ..for ur vote bank politics. (sic)”
Children of my country shiver with fear and cry….as karni Sena attacks a school bus….The elected Government looks the other way..The opposition party diplomatically reacts…aren’t u all ashamed to trade our children’s safety ..for ur vote bank politics..#justasking
— Prakash Raj (@prakashraaj) January 24, 2018
The reluctance shown by both the BJP and the Congress in explicitly condemning the goons of Karni Sena appears to emanate from the compulsion of vote-bank politics. Karni Sena, a militant outfit seems to wield a considerable clout among upper Hindu group Rajput in Haryana and Rajasthan. Both these states will go to polls within the next couple of years. The Congress and the saffron party will both be eyeing at their crucial votes.
