Faiz made anti-Hindu by BJP: Sena MP backs poet

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed the Centre saying that those who oppose the government are being branded traitors like it once happened in Russia,

Shiv Sena leader Sanjay Raut on Sunday slammed the Centre saying that those who oppose the government are being branded traitors like it once happened in Russia, Iraq, China and Hitler’s Germany. The MP, in his weekly column Rokthok, also backed poet Faiz Ahmed Faiz’s poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ and hit out at all those terming him “anti-Hindu”.

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“Revolutionary literature has always been created in India. Veer Savarkar’s literature was confiscated by the British. What happened in that era shouldn’t happen today...Once upon a time in Russia, political opponents were tagged enemy of the revolution and put behind bars. Similar things happened in China. Nothing different happened in Iraq and Hitler’s Germany. Today in our country those who speak against the government are branded traitors,” Raut wrote.

The Sena leader backed Pakistani poet Faiz and said he has been “made anti-India by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)”. “Faiz was an enemy of the Pakistan army. He has been made anti-India by the BJP now,” Raut wrote. He also said that a section in the country aimed to curb freedom and was sowing the seeds of “Taliban civilization”. His statement comes against the backdrop of the Indian Institute of Technology in Kanpur announcing it would set up a panel to investigate if Faiz’s iconic poem ‘Hum Dekhenge’ was “anti-Hindu”.

Remarking on the backlash over actor Deepika Padukone’s visit to Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) after the attack on students and teachers, Raut said, “Therefore, Deepika was termed the enemy of the revolution on India. Hurdles will be put in her way. Her advertisements will be banned now.”