TMC MP Mahua Moitra’s comments on Kaali were slammed by the BJP and later TMC distanced itself from her comments.
Kolkata: Even amid a controversy over her remarks, Trinamool Congress MP Mahua Moitra shared a poem on Twitter on Thursday morning speaking up against the apparent censorship she faced when she recently made a comment on Goddess Kali.
The poem, titled ‘Be Careful, Mahua!’, comes at the heels of her party distancing themselves from her comments at a media conclave where she had said that for her, Goddess Kali was a meat-eating, alcohol-accepting goddess.
“When you go to Sikkim, you will see that they offer whiskey to Goddess Kali. But if you go to Uttar Pradesh, and if you tell them that you offer whiskey to the goddess as ‘prasad’, they will call it blasphemy,” Moitra had said.
Her comments were slammed by the BJP and later TMC distanced itself from her comments. The saffron party on Wednesday also lodged two complaints in West Bengal against Moitra for her remark. Meanwhile, the Madhya Pradesh Police registered a case against her in Bhopal under Section 295A of the Indian Penal Code (outraging religious feelings).
Here’s the poem she shared:
‘BE CAREFUL, MAHUA!’
Be careful, they said to her
You’ll end up getting jailed!
Thank you for your concern, she said.
But I think that ship has sailed.
What does ‘being careful’ actually mean?
What all does it entail?
You mean, Be quiet, don’t make a sound
While our freedom they assail?
‘Being careful’ is what got us here
‘Being careful’ sealed our fate
Too many of us too scared to speak
Against the march of hate
The universities were first to go
Then it was the journos’ turn
Then the farmers and the activists
And now our country burns.
Perhaps if we had spoken up
When we all had the chance
The Devil wouldn’t have had gotten as far
As he has in his deadly dance.
Perhaps if we hadn’t been so careful
We might have given them pause
But because you chose to stay so quiet
We are now in evil’s claws.
Don’t tell her to ‘be careful’
Stand with her instead
Shine a light and speak the truth
Into that pit of dread.
— By A Citizen of India
