Actor and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) member Paresh Rawal has tweeted that award-winning writer and activist Arundhati Roy should be treated as a human shield in Kashmir. Last month, a Kashmiri man was tied to a jeep and used as a human shield against stone pelters.
Creating a Twitter storm with his tweet, Rawal also suggested that journalist Sagarika Ghose could also be used as a human shield.
Instead of tying stone pelter on the army jeep tie Arundhati Roy !
— Paresh Rawal (@SirPareshRawal) May 21, 2017
We have a wide variety of choices ! https://t.co/rpciWyhLha
— Paresh Rawal (@SirPareshRawal) May 21, 2017
He received flak for comments that many viewed as utterly distasteful and an attempt to incite violence. Among those who reacted to the actor’s tweets were senior Congress leader Digvijaya Singh.
@SirPareshRawal Why not the person who stitched PDP/BJP alliance ?
— digvijaya singh (@digvijaya_28) May 22, 2017
@PrashantKrPawan @SirPareshRawal You do know that this tweet could get u behind bars for incitement to violence.
— Priyanka Borpujari (@Pri_Borpujari) May 22, 2017
@vinaydokania @SirPareshRawal Goonda-gardi, gaali-galoch, maar-peeth that’s all people like him can think of. Not shocked !!!
— Saniya Sayed (@Ssaniya25) May 22, 2017
@SirPareshRawal You are a disgraceful man. Shame on you.
— Kaneez Surka (@kaneezsurka) May 22, 2017
A D V E R T I S E M E N T
The human shield footage was among a series of videos that surfaced in Kashmir last month, showing clashes between protesters and security personnel in Kashmir. A young man was strapped to the front of an army jeep as protection from stone-throwers. The video led to wide condemnation. The army subsequently launched a legal inquiry against a Major implicated in the incident.
While Arundhati Roy isn’t on Twitter, Sagarika Ghose, who remains a constant target of those who support BJP, sarcastically reacted to Rawal’s comments.
Wonderful sir, too good. You really are a model parliamentarian https://t.co/rPjPWRYC3Q
— Sagarika Ghose (@sagarikaghose) May 22, 2017
Roy, an award-winning writer, has been fairly vocal about her views on Kashmir and the Indian army’s role in it. Her second novel, The Ministry of Utmost Happiness, comes out next month, almost two decades after her debut novel, God of Small Things, won the Booker Prize, in 1997.
Feature Image: India.com/Hourdose.com
