Ashoke Pandit links celebrities 'intolerance' letter to assembly elections

Director Ashoke Pandit, in a response to the letters written by 49 celebrities to the Prime Minister, on making lynching a 'non-bailable' offence, said that the signatories chose the time owing to the upcoming assembly elections.

Mumbai: Responding to the recent letter, in which 49 celebrities hailing from various professions urged Prime Minister Narendra Modi to act on the instances of hate crimes across the country, Director Ashoke Pandit linked the timing of the act to the upcoming assembly elections.

Speaking to a leading news channel, Pandit claimed that these people (the signatories of the open letter) rise up against the government, just before the elections.

"I have a very clear opinion about this. They are like frogs who come up before rains. The assembly elections are going to happen in various states and about 90 per cent of these signatories are the same who rose before the 2014 elections. Their modus operandi is the same, be it Madhya Pradesh elections or the 2019 General Elections," he added.

Pandit further sought to question Director Shyam Benegal, whether he was aware of killings of Hindus in Bengal or Kerala. "Why was the letter not written then?" he questioned.

It may be recalled that 49 celebrities penned an open letter to Modi, asking his intervention to make mob lynching a 'non-bailable' offence.

Read |Make lynching 'non-bailable' offence, celebs urge PM