Over 600 theatre artists, including Naseeruddin Shah, urge citizens to boycott BJP and its allies 

Naseeruddin Shah.

New Delhi: Over 600 theatre artists, including Naseerudin Shah, have urged citizens to boycott the BJP and its allies in this Lok Sabha election. The signatories have expressed their concern that the Constitution and autonomous institutions of the country are under threat from the Narendra Modi government.

A joint statement issued by “Artists Unite India” on “Save Democracy” campaign website, on Thursday, called for citizens to vote “bigotry, hatred, and apathy out of power”. The signatories include filmmaker Anurag Kahsyap, actors Abhishek Majumdar, Anamika Haksar, Anmol Palekar, Dolly Thakore, Konkona Sen Sharma, Lillete Dubey, Mahesh Dattani, MK Raina, Nasseruddin Shah, Nvtej Johar, Ratna Pathak Shah and Sanjna Kapoor.

The artists claimed that the right to dissent under this government have been trampled with. They said speaking against the Bharatiya Janata Party is indigestible for their leaders. All the autonomous institutions are now under threat. Raising questions against government and their schemes are quite problematic. If you raise questions, you are tagged as anti-national or “tukde-tukde” gang. 

The joint statement talks  to citizens to make the Constitution safe and oust such power that is unfavourable for Indian secularism and pluralism.

Notably, recently, hundreds of filmmakers and writers also have issued similar statements to boycott BJP and its allies in the general election.

Recently, Naseeruddin Shah had expressed his fear for the safety of his children under the prevailing “atmosphere of hate”.

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