India is secular: High Court slams BMC's removal of Dia Mirza Diwali ad

The Bombay High Court on Tuesday said it was "disturbed" over the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) decision to pull down a pollution-free Diwali campaign video featuring actor Dia Mirza and asked the civic body to restore the clip.The civic body's move came after Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde and the city's BJP chief Ameet Satam objected to the actor's inclusion, saying that it was "unfortunate" and had been given a "different colour."During the hearing, a bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale suggested it would be "ideal" to put the campaign content up again to "restore the confidence of people in the constitution" as the city of Mumbai survives on the feeling of "togetherness" and "the balance ought not to be disturbed by any loose comments."Without naming any political leader, the court said, “We are disturbed by the comments made by certain people against celebrities who participated in and supported the BMC’s public awareness campaign highlighting the harmful effects of firecrackers on noise and air pollution," "In our opinion, the BMC took very effective steps, and the celebrities conveyed a message of togetherness. We believe that when such a task was undertaken with such solemnity, there was no room for factionalism. We are a secular country. We are really hurt by this. The issue pertains to the environment and every person, irrespective of their religion and caste, is breathing the same air," it added.The High Court further said it would be “ideal” for the BMC to restore the deleted video, leaving the final decision to the civic body. For its campaign, the BMC had roped in several celebrities, including Mirza, actors Madhuri Dixit and Nishigandha Wad, and cricketer Ajinkya Rahane, to record video messages highlighting the harmful effects of firecrackers and urging citizens to help curb noise and air pollution.While Mirza’s video was removed on Sunday, the campaign videos featuring Dixit, Wad and Rahane continued to be available on the BMC’s X and Instagram accounts.The deletion soon snowballed into a political controversy after Mumbai BJP chief Ameet Satam objected to Mirza’s inclusion in the campaign and questioned why she was offering lessons on celebrating Diwali.In a post on X, Satam wrote, “We don't need lessons on how to celebrate Diwali... Our traditions are deeply rooted in our culture.”Within hours of Satam’s objection, the civic body removed Mirza’s video from its social media platforms without issuing any clarification on the decision.Mayor Tawde backed the move and accused the actor of being opposed to Hindutva, even as the BMC’s original campaign urged citizens to avoid firecrackers in the interest of public health.Mirza, meanwhile, defended her participation in the awareness drive, questioning why anyone would object to a video she had recorded in the public interest following a court directive.“Why should anyone be critical of a video that the Honourable Bombay High Court and BMC have made me record in public interest? Air Pollution is an area of concern and all efforts to reduce pollution should be welcomed because it's a matter of public health,” she told news agency ANI.The controversy drew further political reactions, with the BJP alleging that Hindu festivals were being selectively targeted in the name of environmental protection. Opposition leaders, meanwhile, questioned whether the BMC had bowed to political pressure by removing Mirza’s video.- Ends