B. Gopalakrishnan, a BJP leader from Kerala, wrote a Facebook post asking noted filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan, one of the 49 personalities who wrote an open letter against mob lynchings, to move to the moon if he cannot stand the chants of 'Jai Shri Ram'. "This is the Ramayana month. Chants of 'Jai Shri Ram' will emanate from India and neighbouring countries. If you cannot stand it, you can register your name at Sriharikota and go off to the moon," he said, adding that West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee was jailing those who chanted 'Jai Shri Ram' and Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan was invoking Section 144 against chants of Ayyappa saranam.
Expressing concern at the number of "tragic events" unfolding in the country, a group of eminent citizens had said in a letter to Prime Minister Narendra Modi that 'Jai Shri Ram' has become a "provocative war cry" with many lynchings taking place in its name.
The July 23 letter, which also stressed that there is "no democracy without dissent", has been written by 49 celebrities from various fields, including filmmakers Shyam Benegal and Aparna Sen as well as vocalist Shubha Mudgal, historian Ramchandra Guha and sociologist Ashis Nandy.
"We, as peace loving and proud Indians, are deeply concerned about a number of tragic events that have been happening in recent times in our beloved country," the letter said.
"The lynching of Muslims, Dalits and other minorities must be stopped immediately. We were shocked to learn from the NCRB that there have been no less than 840 instances of atrocities against dalits in the year 2016, and a definite decline in the percentage of convictions," it continued.
The signatories said they regretted that 'Jai Shri Ram' has been reduced to a "provocative war cry that leads to law and order problems, and many lynchings take place in its name".
It is shocking, they said, that so much violence should be perpetrated in the name of religion.
-Inputs from PTI
