Malayalam TV anchor on Mahishasur Jayanti debate and what led to threat calls

Smriti Irani produced a short document she claimed to be the pamphlet/poster of a Mahishasur Jayanti event held at the Jawaharlal Nehru University in Parliament. The Opposition created ruckus saying quoting from documents of events organised by very small groups is setting a bad example.

This was the topic for February 26 News Hour debate and we had BJP state secretary VV Rajesh, MP MB Rajesh representing CPM and Congress MP Anto Antony on the panel.

During the discussion, Rajesh said it was written in the pamphlet that goddess Durga is a sex worker and repeated the same stressing this is what Smriti Irani was talking about. But not once did I make such a statement on the show. My question was "how can this be considered an evidence for treason" and asked the BJP MP to explain how it falls under the ambit of law.

Also read: Is Mahishasur really a villain?

I said it could be blamed for "hurting religious sentiments" but also told them celebrating Mahishasur Jayanti is a common thing among tribals in UP, Bihar, Odisha and asked if that is their religious belief, how can we accuse them for it. I also pointed out that even BJP MP Udit Raj has, in the past, taken part in such events.

Also read - Udit Raj on Mahishasur row: Freedom of speech can't mean you can abuse gods

This was the only point discussed in the half-an-hour programme. I never said what I have been accused of.

Watch the video here:

(This first appeared on Sindhu R Sooryakumar's Facebook page in Malayalam. This post is loosely translated by Vivek Surendran.)

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