RIGHT WING GROUPS SUPPORT FRINGE ELEMENTS

LUCKNOW: Uncertainty prevailed over Thursday’s release of Padmaavat with various right wing bodies like Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal coming out in support of the fringe elements who are against the screening of a film that has clearance from not just the censor board but the Supreme Court too.

The VHP in fact justified the protests against Padmaavat, calling them ‘rashtra dharma’ (national duty) even as the Congress questioned the silence of Bharatiya Janata Party government in UP on the protests.

“Why is it that the BJP governments in UP and elsewhere have treated protestors as if they were state guests?” asked Congress secretary Devendra Pratap Singh.

More than Karni Sena or the All India Kshatriya Mahasabha, it were the saffron outfits like VHP and others who were in news on Wednesday– some like Bajrang Dal taking part in protests while VHP backing protestors and their demand.

“How can one justify the filmmaker’s decision to make a queen who is revered in Rajasthan dance?” asked VHP leader Sharad Sharma.

“I wonder why the courts prefer to turn a blind eye to killing of thousands of animals while banning Jallikattu,” an RSS member said.

“It’s not a Rajput issue. It’s a Hindu issue. As Hindus we cannot tolerate the insult to the character of mother Padmavati on whom Sanjay Leela Bhansali has based his movie, which we haven’t seen and have no desire to see either,” said some of the protestors at a theatre here. VHP also admitted that several religious and right wing groups have sided with the Rajputs.

On Sunday some of the protestors had raised slogans suggesting that cinema halls screening the movie would be burnt down. And on Wednesday, after an immolation bid, threats and violent protests in many parts of state, several cinema hall owners said they won’t screen the movie. “It’s a matter of pride that Rajputs are on the streets for the sake of the brave queen Padmavati,” said Sharma.