At the 92nd Akhil Bhartiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan on Sunday, January 13, Union Minister Nitin Gadkari reportedly said in his address that politicians should not interfere in other fields like literature and education.
Gadkari was delivering the valedictory speech which was earlier supposed to be delivered by author Nayantara Sahgal. Sahgal’s invite to the event had been withdrawn by the organisers, ostensibly owing to political pressure.
The senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said, “Politics has its own limitations and we should learn that politicians should not interfere in other fields like education and literature. Let those managing these fields do their work,” reported the Indian Express.
“Non-interference does not mean not to have a relationship with them. During the Emergency, writers like Durga Bhagwat and P L Deshpande had become more popular than politicians and their rallies attracted more people. They said as litterateurs, they were fighting for keeping democracy alive no matter who comes to power,” he reportedly added.
After Sahgal’s invite was cancelled, she had said that it was due to “Political pressure by those who are in power in Maharashtra”, widely understood to be a reference to the BJP.
Shiv Sena, which is part of the ruling coalition with the BJP, had also condemned the cancellation of Sahgal’s speech saying her invite was rescinded after the organisers learnt about her intent to speak on issues like cow-related violence and lynchings and ‘misuse’ of government machinery.
“The organisers must have thought that they will have to forego ‘sarkari meherbani’ (favours from government) if Nayantara Sahgal is called for the event. They have killed the freedom of expression and self-respect of writers,” the Uddhav Thackeray-led party had said.
(With PTI inputs)