Monday, May 22, 2017
New Delhi: Veteran Bollywood actor Paresh Rawal on Monday kicked up a storm when he said the army officer who allegedly used a civilian in Kashmir last month as a “human shield” should have “tied” author-activist Arundhati Roy to his jeep instead.
“Instead of tying stone pelter on the army jeep, tie up Arundhati Roy,” Rawal tweeted on Sunday night.
National Award winner, Rawal became Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Parliamentarian from Ahmedabad East constituency during the 2014 general election.
It was not known what was the immediate provocation for the tweet which was retweeted and liked over a thousand times.
Many now link Rawal’s tweet to Roy’s visit to Kashmir last week where she had described the Indian government as an “aggressor” and New Delhi’s occupation of Kashmir “shameful”.”
She went on to say that “India’s oppression cannot subdue Kashmiri struggle.”
Roy has always been a strong critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
The human shield footage was among a series of videos that surfaced in Kashmir last month, showing clashes between protesters and security personnel in Kashmir. The army said its soldiers strapped the young man to the front of their jeep as protection from stone-throwers.
Rawal’s comments on Roy drew condemnation from many Twitter users. Some saw it as an attempt to incite violence by an elected public representative.
“Your acting was often commendable but your prejudiced mindset is condemnable. Telling d army to hide behind a brave woman is shameful,” wrote Malaika Singh on Twitter.
“You need to learn to respect women. Arundhati Roy is a brave woman known for her candid views. And don’t try to incite violence please,” tweeted Rakesh Negi.
Criticising Rawal, columnist Shobhaa De said, “this is absurd and I am surprised that someone is doing that for publicity.”
Congress general secretary Digivijay Singh also hit out at Rawal.
“Why not tie the person who stitched the alliance between Bharatiya Janata Party and People’s Democratic Party in Kashmir,” Singh said.
Reacting to Rawal’s tweet, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani said, “nowhere will we, in any way, support any violent message by anybody, against any individual of the country.”
Last week, Minister of State for Home Affairs Kiren Rijiju had defended the army officer who tied a civilian to his jeep.
“If our soldiers are doing something to protect themselves, how can you denounce that? You cannot. After all, forces are also human beings. They also need to protect their lives. Indian forces are very responsible. We believe in human rights. We honour human rights. But at the same, we carry the right to protect ourselves,” Rijiju had said.
Award-winning writer Roy is known for her controversial views on Kashmir. She became a household name in 1997 when her novel ‘The God of Small Things’ won the Man Booker Prize for Fiction.
Her new novel ‘The Ministry of Utmost Happiness’ will hit the stands next month, marking the writer’s return to literary fiction after two decades since the ‘The God Of Small Things’ was published.
By Karuna Madan Correspondent
Gulf News 2017. All rights reserved.
