NEW DELHI, July 10: A man was arrested in Assam on Sunday allegedly for “hurting religious sentiments” because he was dressed as Lord Shiva to perform in a street play that highlighted price rise under the Narendra Modi government. Incidentally, the Assam is ruled by the BJP.
The police said Birinchi Bora was dressed up as Lord Shiva while performing a skit with a female co-actor (who dressed up as Parvati) to protest against price rise. The videos of their act were widely shared on social media.
Their act was, however, criticised by Hindu groups like Vishwa Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal, who held protests against their act and later filed a complaint accusing the actor of hurting religious sentiments and misusing religion for political purposes.
Following the complaint, Birinchi Bora was detained and taken to Nagaon Sadar Police Station. In the street play, Birinchi Bora and his co-actor Parishimita, seen dressed as Shiva and Parvati, were riding a two-wheeler on a road. At the designated spot for the street play, the vehicle stops apparently because it ran out of fuel. What follows was an argument between Shiva and Parvati over the issue, where ‘Shiva’ starts to attack the Modi government over rising fuel prices and other issues.
He “appealed” to the public to come out to protest against the Narendra Modi government to get rid of rising prices. The police said Bora was initially detained but was then placed under arrest and was later released on “bond.”
(Manas Dasgupta)
