“Ghar Wapsi” VHP reacts to AR Rahman’s remarks on lack of work in Bollywood
New Delhi: The A. R. Rahman’s recent comments about not getting work in Bollywood have drawn a strong reaction from the Vishva Hindu Parishad (VHP).
VHP national spokesperson Vinod Bansal on Saturday said that if Rahman wanted to get work again, he should “ghar wapsi”. His comments came after Rahman suggested that he may have lost work in the Hindi film industry over the past eight years, possibly due to communal reasons.
Reacting to this, Bansal alleged that Rahman had come to be identified with a particular group. He also claimed that Rahman appeared to be following the line of former Vice President Hamid Ansari, alleging that Ansari had enjoyed benefits and constitutional positions for ten years but later made statements that, according to him, insulted India.
Continuing his criticism, Bansal said that Rahman was once admired by Indians, including Hindus, but instead of reflecting on why he was not getting work, he was making remarks against the system and bringing disrepute to the film industry. He further claimed that Rahman was once a Hindu and questioned why he converted to Islam, adding that “ghar wapsi” could help him get work again. Such statements, he said, may suit politicians but not artists.
Rahman had made the remarks during an interview to the BBC Asian Network. In the interview, he said that for several years he had felt like an outsider in Bollywood and that he had not received work for the past eight years. Speaking about possible reasons, he said it could be communalism, though he added that it was not something directly in front of him.
Rahman also said he was not chasing work and that everything was fine. He added that he now had more time to spend with his family and believed that work should come to him based on honesty and merit, and that he would get what was meant for him.
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Kejriwal resorting to 'vendetta politics', says BJP after MP Sandeep Pathak booked
New Delhi (PTI): The BJP on Saturday accused Aam Aadmi Party's national convenor Arvind Kejriwal of vendetta politics after Punjab Police booked Rajya Sabha MP Sandeep Pathak, who recently defected to the BJP.
In an X post, BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla claimed that Kejriwal is misusing the Punjab Police to settle political scores, and Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann has become a party to it.
"Two FIRs have been filed against Sandeep Pathak, who until recently was in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) as a Rajya Sabha MP and general secretary (organisation). What is baffling is the shameless, brazen vendetta politics being pursued by Arvind Kejriwal, with Bhagwant Mann complicit in it," Poonawalla said.
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"It is clear this has been done out of vendetta politics by Kejriwal, who is extremely vengeful and vindictive, and misuses the Punjab Police to pursue such political vendetta," he alleged.
Questioning the timing of the FIRs, Poonawalla said, "If these cases existed from the beginning, why were FIRs not filed earlier? If he was corrupt, why was he kept in the party for so long, especially when he was the general secretary (organisation)? Has any new material surfaced in the last few days, or has the alleged corruption occurred only now?"
He alleged that Kejriwal has an "old habit" of targeting political opponents and dissenters.
"We have seen how he has used the police against rivals, including Congress leaders. This is his old habit," Poonawalla said, referring to the withdrawal of Rajya Sabha MP Harbhajan Singh's security.
Poonawalla claimed that several leaders who had left AAP over the years, including Yogendra Yadav, Mayank Gandhi, Ashish Khetan, Ashutosh and Alka Lamba, were "hounded".
He accused the party of failing to introspect.
"Instead of introspecting on how they have changed -- from Anna to Lalu, from Lokpal to corruption -- they are indulging in vendetta politics, trying to victimise people using the strong arm of the law. This reflects an Emergency-like mindset and a dictatorial, Hitlerian mindset," he said.
According to sources, two FIRs have been lodged against Pathak under non-bailable sections.
No further details about the FIRs have been disclosed yet.
On April 24, the AAP suffered a jolt when seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha MPs quit, alleging that Arvind Kejriwal's party has strayed from its principles, values and core morals.
Of the seven MPs -- who were Pathak, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajendra Gupta, Vikramjit Sahney and Swati Maliwal -- six were from Punjab.
Later, Rajya Sabha Chairman C P Radhakrishnan officially accepted their merger with the BJP, reducing AAP's strength in the Upper House to three.
