Sacred Games Row: Congress Leader Rajiv Sinha 'Inspired By' Rahul Gandhi's Tweet, Decides To Withdraw Complaint Against Netflix Web Series
Congress leader Rajiv Kumar Sinha, who had filed a case against the makers of Netflix web series Sacred Games, has decided to withdraw the case after being "inspired" by Party President Rahul Gandhi's tweet.
Mumbai, July 16: Congress leader Rajiv Kumar Sinha, who had filed a case against the makers of Netflix web series Sacred Games, has decided to withdraw the case after being "inspired" by Party President Rahul Gandhi's tweet. Sinha had filed a complaint against Sacred Games for using an ‘objectionable word’ to describe late Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi. He has now written a letter saying he has decided to withdraw the case.
Despite objections by Congress leaders to the show, Rahul Gandhi said that freedom of expression must not be curbed. "BJP/RSS believe the freedom of expression must be policed & controlled. I believe this freedom is a fundamental democratic right. My father lived and died in the service of India. The views of a character on a fictional web series can never change that," Gandhi tweeted on Saturday. (Also Read: Saif Ali Khan's reaction to Sacred Games controversy)
Following Gandhi's tweet, Sinha wrote a letter saying that he was inspired by the Congress chief's words and decided to withdraw the complaint. "With the inspiration of tweet by our National President and voice of people Sri Rahul Gandhi ji, I learnt that forgiveness is much bigger than anything else in this mortal world," he wrote.
"Today Rahulji’s tweet was an eye-opener for me. I completely agree with him that Bharat Ratna Late Rajiv Gandhi ji and his contribution and charisma is above all these petty things. Sri Rahul Gandhi has presented an example of forgiving, and we should stick to our principles of Gandhism, which is non-violent and for the sake of integrity and unity of our Country it is indeed the need of present situation in our country," Sinha added.
The web series became the centre of controversy over certain scenes on late former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi using abusive language against him. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, who plays the role of a Mumbai-based gangster in the series, calls Rajiv Gandhi a "fattu" (coward) in one of the scenes for not backing Shah Bano Begum in the matrimonial lawsuit since a section of the Muslim clergy were against her.
The character of Siddiqui further accuses Rajiv Gandhi of ordering the airing of Ramayana on television to appease Hindus and divert attention from the Shah Bano case. The show also makes a mention of the Bofors case.
(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 16, 2018 10:05 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).