Ahead of the upcoming West Bengal State assembly elections, the Communist Party of India (Marxist) supporters have weaponised ‘cancel culture’ to deter people from joining the BJP. In a disturbing development, a theatre artist by the name of Koushik Kar was removed from a play after he joined the BJP, reported The Times of India.
As per reports, Kar was barred from the ‘Ghum Nei’ play, written by Utpal Dutta, and adapted by a vocal Communist party supporter named Saurav Palodhi. Following the decision of Palodhi, who runs a theatre group ‘Ichamoto’, he has been slammed online for his intolerant behaviour. However, the CPM supporter justified his decision, saying that Kar’s decision to join the BJP was reason enough for his ouster.
In a Facebook post, Palodhi wrote, “We have removed Koushik Kar from ‘Ghum Nei’ play. He has joined the BJP and that is enough for us to remove him in the current scenario. This play has no place for communal people. Therefore, get lost… The new dates for the play will be announced soon Regards, Ichamoto.
“While adapting Dutt’s play, Koushik and I had created his character and named him Akhlaq. The name had a reference to the 2015 Dadri case where a mob had attacked the home of Md Akhlaq, killing him on suspicion of eating beef. Allowing someone to play Akhlaq after joining BJP will be attacking the soul of the play,” he added while speaking to Times of India.
‘Cancelled’ Theatre artist slams Communist supporter, gets support of co-actors
Slamming Saurav Palodhi for removing him from the ‘Gum Nei’ play, Koushik Kar said leftists with no grassroots connections are trying to lay siege on theatre groups. “Saurav is hiding his folly by making such statements. Few Leftists who move between Dharmatala and Brigade and hyperventilate on Facebook are trying to control theatre. They have no grassroots connect,” he stated.
Kar further added, “Dropping me or barring me from staging a play is only exposing the insecurity of elites who don’t even understand the essence of communism.” The ‘cancelled’ theatre artists, who had recently joined the BJP, has received the support of actor-turned-politician Kanchana Moitra. Labelling the move as ‘sheer intolerance’, she pointed out that such decisions cannot be defended at any cost in a democratic country such as India. Actor Rudranil Ghosh condemns ‘cancel culture’, dubs it ‘hypocrisy’ and ‘fascism of left-leaning theatre workers’.
Saurav Palodhi and his connections to the CPI (M)
Saurav Palodhi is a vocal Communist party supporter. He has even updated his profile picture with CPI(M) West Bengal frame. He had attended a Communist party rally at Brigade Ground. After attending the gathering, Palodhi came to the conclusion that the West Bengal elections were no more between the BJP and the Trinamool Congress.
Assuming that the people who had gathered at the Communist rally represent the number of voters, Palodhi alleged that CPI(M) is a strong contender in the 2021 elections.
He was also seen supporting ‘communist students’ from the neighbouring country of Bangladesh. It must be mentioned that Palodhi is a vocal critic of the Mamata Banerjee regime as well.
He was also seen justifying the decision of the ‘secular’ Congress-Communist alliance with the rabid Islamist Abbas Siddiqui. Palodhi targeted Hindutva politics and claimed that Indian Secular Front and the CPI(M) were two different parties and the alliance may be ‘good’ or ‘bad’. It must be reiterated that Siddiqui had called for the intervention of Allah to kill 50 crore Indians with ‘virus’ last year.
While Abbas Siddiqui’s alliance with Left might be positive or negative, Koushik Kar’s decision to join the BJP was somehow a reason enough for his ouster from a play that he and Palodhi co-created. Although the ‘cancel culture’ in India is still in its nascent stage, leftists are pouncing on every possible opportunity to mainstream the financial and societal boycott of individuals on the basis of mere political opinions.
