In an attempt to cash in on public sentiment ahead of Bihar elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party’s art and culture wing in the state has released posters seeking ‘justice’ for Bollywood actor Sushant Singh Rajput, who died by suicide in his Mumbai apartment on 14 June.
The posters display pictures of the late Bollywood actor with slogans like, "Na bhule hai, na bhulne denge. (Neither have we forgotten, nor will we let anyone forget)”. The posters also mention “Kala evam Sanskriti Prakosth, BJP (Bihar)”.
According to a report by The Indian Express, the party unit has printed 25,000 car stickers and 30,000 masks with the same message and has been distributing them across several districts since July. Maintaining that the death of the actor is an“an emotional, not a political matter” for the BJP, art and culture wing convenor Varun Kumar Singh told the daily: “We had also been conducting meetings in Patna in groups in July first week. It is just a coincidence that some people noticed the stickers and are attributing political motives to it.”
Singh also said that a two-episode video on Sushant Singh Rajput made by them will soon be released on social media.
According to a report by The Times of India, the BJP has written a letter to Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar demanding that Rajiv Nagar Chowk in Patna be named after Rajput. In the letter, the film city located in Nalanda's Rajgir has also been asked to be named after the actor.
The posters intensified a slugfest between the BJP and other parties with Congress spokesperson Mriunjay Tiwari saying, “Kisi ki lash par rajneeti nehi honi chahiye. (Nobody should play politics over someone's dead body.)”
Tiwari also said, according to The Times of India, that RJD leader Tejashwi Yadav was the first to demand a CBI probe in the Bollywood actor's death.
(With inputs from The Indian Express and The Times of India.)
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