Rajya Sabha member M P Veerendra Kumar has condemned a BJP leader's statement against renowned filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan asking him to shift to the Moon or any other planet if he was unable to tolerate those chanting "Jai Sri Ram."
A day after Adoor and others raised their voice against violence in the name of religion, state BJP leader B Gopalakrishnan had hit out at the auteur saying he was a respected filmmaker, but cannot 'insult' the culture of the country.
"The BJP leader asked Adoor to shift to the moon for asking the Prime Minister to put an end to the rising lynching incidents in the country," Veerendra Kumar said in a release.
The Janata Dal (U) leader said mob attacks on minorities are on the rise and all those who believe in democracy are upset with the rising incidents of lynching in the country.
As the comments by the BJP spokesperson kicked up a controversy, Adoor had said their letter voicing concern was neither against the government nor against those chanting 'Jai Sri Ram', but against incidents of lynching using the "chant as a war cry."
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan and the Malayalam film fraternity had rallied behind Adoor and condemned the BJP leader's comments.
"If you are not keen to hear it (Jai Sri Ram), please register your name at Sriharikota and you can go to the moon", the BJP leader had told Adoor in a sarcasm-laced post, adding it will be better if he changed his name.
His outbursts came a day after 49 eminent citizens, including Adoor, wrote to Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressing concern that 'Jai Shri Ram' had become a war cry with many lynchings taking place.
Celebrities from various fields, including Aparna Sen, vocalist Shubha Mudgal, historian Ramchandra Guha and sociologist Ashis Nandy, had signed the July 23 letter.
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