Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis has called the controversy over actress Dia Mirza’s Diwali video a very small issue. His statement came after the Bombay High Court criticised the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) for removing the video and directed it to upload it again. Fadnavis said the decision to remove the video was taken by the BMC. He added that the authority managing the civic body's social media account has the right to decide which content should remain online and which should be removed. He also said that Dia Mirza may be a good actress, but she is not a major political figure in the country. According to him, such matters are not at his level.
High Court Orders Video Repost
The chief minister's remarks came after the Bombay High Court directed the BMC to repost Dia Mirza's video. The video was part of a public awareness campaign launched by the civic body to reduce air and noise pollution during Diwali. In the video, the actress appealed to people not to burst firecrackers on public roads and to celebrate an environment-friendly festival. The campaign was aimed at spreading awareness about pollution during the festive season. However, the video was removed from the BMC's social media account after objections from several political leaders.
BJP Leaders Object to Appeal
Mumbai BJP chief Amit Satam and Mayor Ritu Tawde were among those who strongly objected to the video. Tawde alleged that Hindus did not need to be taught how to celebrate Diwali and described the campaign as an agenda against Hindutva. BJP leader Ram Kadam also criticised Dia Mirza and questioned her remarks. Meanwhile, videos featuring Madhuri Dixit and cricketer Ajinkya Rahane as part of the same campaign continued to remain on the BMC's social media accounts. The removal of Dia Mirza's video soon became a political controversy.
Court Questions BMC's Decision
A bench of Justices Girish Kulkarni and Neela Gokhale expressed strong displeasure over the removal of the video. The High Court observed that India is a secular country and directed the BMC to upload the video again without delay. The court's intervention brought a new turn to the controversy. The order also put the civic body's decision to remove the awareness video under scrutiny. Following the court's direction, the issue returned to the centre of public and political discussion.
Fadnavis Calls It a Minor Matter
Reacting to the court's order, Fadnavis said that the video had been removed on the BMC's decision. He also suggested that the matter had not reached the High Court when the civic body took that step. The chief minister maintained that the authority handling the social media account was responsible for deciding what content should be published or removed. He repeated that the controversy was a small issue and not something that required his personal intervention.
Who Is Dia Mirza?
Dia Mirza is an actress, model, film producer and environmental activist from Hyderabad. She began her acting career with the 2001 film Rehnaa Hai Terre Dil Mein. She has worked in around 40 to 50 films and web projects across Hindi, Telugu and Bengali entertainment industries. She has also been associated with environmental awareness campaigns and serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Environment Programme. In 2023, the BBC included her in its list of 100 inspiring and influential women from around the world.
