The Member of Parliament of Bharatiya Janata Party from Karnataka, Anantkumar Hegde, wrote a letter to tyre major company Ceat. He has objected to its recent advertisement on bursting crackers. In the ad, it is seen that Aamir Khan keeps urging people not to burst firecrackers on roads. In his letter, the MP said that “he hoped that in future Ceat will respect the feelings of Hindus and will not hurt them as such advertisements are creating unrest among Hindus.”
He wrote a letter to the Managing Director and CEO of the company Anant Vardhan Goenka. This happened on October 14, Thursday. Anantkumar Hegde objected to the advertisement where Bollywood star Aamir Khan advises people not to burst crackers on the streets. In his defense, he said that “the company should also address the problem of blocking of roads in the name of Namaz and sound pollution caused from mosques during Azaan.”
This is not Anantkumar’s first Islamophobic comment. Even in the past, he has courted controversy with his attack against Muslims several times. Incidentally, this letter also came to light after Bangalore South MP Tejasvi Surya expressed reservations. This happened on October 19, Tuesday. The reservations were about FabIndia (an Indian company) naming their Diwali collection as ‘Jashn-e-Riwaaz’. Surya took the aid of Twitter to quote and claim that Fabindia was “defacing” the Hindu festival of Deepavali. They were doing so by using an Urdu name for a Hindu festival.
Anantkumar said, “As you are keen and sensitive towards problems faced by the general public and you also belong to Hindu Community, I am sure you can feel discrimination done to Hindus for centuries. A group of anti-Hindu actors always hurt the Hindu sentiments. On the other hand, they never try to expose the wrongdoings of their community.”
He requested the management to take note of its recent advertisement. He said that the ad produced by the company was creating unrest among Hindus. “Your company’s recent advertisement in which Aamir Khan advises people not to burst firecrackers on the streets is giving a good message. Your concern for public issues needs applause. In this regard I request you to address one more problem faced by people on roads, that is, blocking roads in the name of Namaz on Fridays and other important festive days by Muslims,” Hegde said.
This MP then went on to explain the matter in detail. He said, “It is a very common scene in many Indian cities where Muslims block busy roads and perform Namaz, and at that time, vehicles, ambulances, and firefighters are stuck in traffic causing grave losses. Every day, the mikes arranged on top of mosques in our country while giving Azaan emit loud noises. That sound is beyond permissible levels. On Fridays, prolonged prayers take place in the mosques. It is a great inconvenience to people who have health issues, who are resting and teaching.” “I kindly request you to take cognizance of this particular incident where your company’s advertisement has created unrest among the Hindus,” he added.
