Bombay HC asks BMC to re-upload Dia Mirza's eco-friendly Diwali video after political row

The Bombay High Court has taken serious note of the controversy over actor Dia Mirza's eco-friendly Diwali video. The development is being seen as a setback for the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) and some Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders.

Mirza made the video for a Diwali with less firecracker pollution. It was part of a BMC campaign that enlisted celebrities to make the festival more eco-friendly. Several other celebrities also made videos. Mirza's message was simple: burst firecrackers on Diwali, but burst fewer. This triggered a political storm. Some BJP leaders called her anti-Hindu, and her video was removed from the BMC's social media account. The High Court has now intervened.

A bench of Justice Girish Kulkarni and Justice Dr Neela Gokhale praised Mirza's awareness message on air pollution caused by firecrackers. The court also expressed displeasure at statements by some political leaders. Justice Kulkarni asked directly why her participation was being opposed when she had made the video in line with the court's own orders. Justice Gokhale said plainly, "This is entirely an environmental issue, do not give it any other colour." She also said everyone breathes the same air.

The bench also raised a constitutional question. It said that since India is a secular country, how can anyone be stopped from celebrating a festival or joining an awareness campaign because they belong to another religion? The court clarified that a ban on firecrackers does not mean taking away the right to celebrate a festival. It then ordered the BMC to upload the removed video again on its social media account.

The controversy began with a remark by Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam. He wrote on X that there was no need to learn from Dia Mirza how to celebrate Diwali, and that "our traditions and culture are rooted very deep". Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde said Mirza holds an anti-Hindu stance. Neither leader has reacted to the court's observations.

The Opposition hit back immediately. Gajanan Kale, spokesperson and city president of the Navi Mumbai unit of the Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, launched a sharp attack. He claimed the court had humiliated Satam in the middle of Diwali. He called the ruling a resounding slap on the face of a BJP that practises Hindu-Muslim politics.

NCP (Sharad Pawar faction) MLA Rohit Pawar said discriminating against an artist on the basis of religion is wrong. He asked what was wrong with an environmental message, and alleged that Satam twisted the statement for the politics of religion. Pawar also referred to the Chief Minister's reply, saying that when asked about it, the Chief Minister had called it a matter for the municipal corporation. Pawar said, "You are in power in the state as well as in the BMC, and Amit Satam is the Mumbai BJP president."

Samajwadi Party MLA Rais Shaikh said the BMC belongs neither to Amit Satam nor to Nitesh Rane, nor is it a BJP party office. He said it belongs to all Mumbaikars and runs on their money. He reminded that the BMC itself had invited Mirza as an ambassador and asked her to spread awareness in line with the High Court's directions. Mirza said what the court had said, as Madhuri Dixit and other celebrities also did. Even so, Shaikh alleged, Satam saw only Mirza, because she has expressed views against the BJP and because "Mirza" is in her name. He asked Satam, Rane and Tawde to focus on the real issue of pollution. According to Shaikh, people in Mumbai are falling ill, and going after one actor will achieve nothing.

The video will be put up again, even as the political debate over it continues.