Minorities under constant fear: Mahesh Bhatt

Filmmaker Mahesh Bhatt on Sunday criticised the ruling government by saying that “minorities in India are under constant fear under the current regime” and “there have been various incidents to back my opinion”.

The filmmaker was speaking to The Asian Age at the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award 2015. He also claimed that Bihar elections have once again proved that one particular colour “which is saffron” will not rise again and again. There is hope in the country, and the Bihar election results have proved that the diversity of this country cannot be broken, he said.

This comes at a time when the clamor against “intolerance in the country” is getting louder, not to mention the recent campaign where various authors and artistes returned their awards as a mark of protest.

Continuing his tirade, Mr Bhatt said that Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP) had tremendous support earlier but after the Bihar election results, the same people who supported the party are no longer with it. People are cynical and depressed in a way because this government is the same like the previous one. If you push them a little and ask anything, they put all the blame on the former government, said Mr Bhatt.

Last week, Uttar Pradesh Cabinet Minister Azam Khan said, “Prime Minister Narendra Modi should learn a lesson from the debacle in Bihar and work towards removing fear from the minds of minorities.”

Last month, senior Congress leader Ghulam Nabi Azad slammed the BJP saying, “BJP leaders are creating fear in the minds of minorities by making provocative statements after the Dadri incident and this is not possible without the blessing of their leadership.”

The Mother Teresa Memorial International Award-2015 was organised on Sunday by The Harmony Foundation Board, which endorsed and honoured ten people and organisations for their selfless service to society. Among those honoured, Bilquis Bano, the Pakistani caretaker of Geeta, the girl who was repatriated to India, was awarded the Mother Teresa Memorial International Award 2015 for social justice. Mr Bhatt was among those present and moderated a discussion on affordable medical care at the event.