'India Is Secular' : Bombay High Court Fires Back After BMC Pulls Dia Mirza’s Diwali Ad

The Bombay High Court slammed politicians for targeting actor Dia Mirza over her Diwali video advocating against street firecrackers.

Displeased by the political backlash, a Division Bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Dr. Neela Gokhale stated it was “disturbed by the stray comments made by some politicians” and firmly reminded them that “India is a secular country.”

Objection To Dia Mirza's Diwali Campaign

After severe rebuttal from BJP Mumbai chief Ameet Satam, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) swiftly pulled Dia Mirza’s eco-friendly Diwali campaign from all social media platforms within hours of his objections. In an awareness video for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, Mirza had appealed to the public, citing a High Court order, not to burst firecrackers on public roads.

Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde alleged the actor has of "always taken an anti-Hindu and anti-government stand", stating it as the reason to oppose her.

Maharashtra minister Nitesh Rane also stressed it was wrong for the civic body to promote people like Mirza. "Dia Mirza has tweeted about Diwali, but she never tweets or offers such advice during Eid, Muharram or Bakri Eid. They only talk about an environment-friendly Holi or Diwali. They should also speak about an environment-friendly Ramzan and Bakri Eid. People like her are against the Sanatan Hindu religion. I will discuss this issue with the Chief Minister that such things are prevented in the future," he said.

A division bench of Justices Kulkarni and Gokhale expressed deep dismay and alarm at the petty attitude exhibited by certain public representatives. The High Court lamented that a video purely designed to promote environmental protection and combat air and noise pollution was given such a skewed twist.

Bombay HC Condemns Takedown Of Dia Mirza's Diwali Appeal

“We are disturbed with the comments made by certain persons in regard to celebrities who had participated and assisted in public cause being taken up by BMC of creating awareness of ill effects of bursting firecrackers by the noise and air pollution. In our opinion, BMC took very effective steps, and each one of them [celebrities] have given this message to nurture togetherness. We certainly believe when with such solemnity such task was undertaken, there was no room for factionalism,” the HC underlined in its order.

“We, therefore observe incident taken place yesterday, which in our opinion was unfortunate and it was without taking into consideration the solemnity of court orders and whole intention of what was to be achieved by the campaign. There is no scope for knee-jerk reaction of few people at the cost of society at large,” the court said.

"There has to be a secular spirit, and the Constitution expects citizens to foster the same. If the clip was taken off, then it would be ideal that the same should be re-uploaded," the court emphasised.

Despite the pushback, Mirza has defended her campaign.