Fadnavis govt’s dubious deal with MNS

The military fraternity deserves commendation for forthrightly rejecting the move of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) in coercing film producers employing Pakistanis to pay a “penance fee” of Rs 5 crore to the Army Welfare Fund. As some senior armed forces officers have pointed out, this amounts to extortion and it is unthinkable for the Army to subscribe to this. While this action of the MNS was bad enough, what is even more indefensible and shocking is that this is a part of a deal entered into by the MNS with the Fadnavis government in the State. After Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh had instructed the State government to ensure full protection to the producer of the film Ae Dil Hai Mushkil in its release, the Chief Minister had no business to enter into such a deal with the MNS which amounts to virtually forcing the film’s producer, Karan Johar, to submit to blackmail. Fadnavis has indeed done a grave act of impropriety in acquiescing in this arm-twisting by the MNS. Mercifully, the Indian armed forces have been apolitical all along and must be allowed to remain so because that is not only their strength but in the interests of the country too. We have seen how the meddling of the armed forces in politics in Pakistan has proved a liability for their armed forces and for their country. As Lt General (retd) Syed Ata Husnain said aptly, “The Indian armed forces cannot and should not become crutches for political ambitions.” Contributions to the Army Welfare Fund must be welcomed wholeheartedly but they should not be with strings attached.

Clearly, in the case of the deal between Chief Minister Fadnavis and MNS chief Raj Thackeray, there was an element of coercion on film producers. In the circumstances, it would be appropriate for the managers of the Army Welfare Fund to reject the donation if it finally comes to it. As for the undertaking given by film producers not to use Pakistani stars in any future venture as of now, that is the business of the film fraternity and cannot be faulted if it is voluntary. But if it is the product of coercion it is another matter.