http://m.thehindu.com/news/national/other-states/caving-to-bjp-pressure-marathi-author-apologises-for-antimodi-remarks/article8098608.ece
Marathi author apologises for ‘anti-Modi’ remarks Updated: January 12, 2016 20:29 IST | Shoumojit Banerjee With the threat of disruption of Maharashtra’s biggest literary event - the upcoming 89th Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Sammelan - looming large, noted litterateur Shripal Sabnis on Tuesday publicly ‘apologised’ for his remarks on Prime Minister Narendra Modi. With barely two days to go for the literary event, Dr. Sabnis, who is president of the meet, recanted his recent statements against Mr. Modi at a late evening press conference here. “I am sorry for any misunderstandings being created…I am aware that it is my responsibility as president to ensure that the meet goes smoothly. I thank the Prime Minister for his leadership and hope the meet has his blessings. I again laud him for his courageous trip to Pakistan and the mention of Gautam Buddha and Mahatma Gandhi in his foreign diplomacy,” said Dr. Sabnis, reading out the personal letter he had already sent to Mr. Modi mentioning that the misunderstanding on his remarks was created by “certain elements” in the State. Dr. Sabnis’ statement is a significant climb down from his earlier stance of defiance against the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party, which had filed a police complaint against him for attempting to allegedly ‘tarnish’ Mr. Modi’s reputation. At the time, the author had said he would not apologise “even if the BJP hanged him”. “There seems to be no contriteness in Dr. Sabnis’ letter to the Prime Minister. He blames ‘certain’ elements for creating misapprehension over his remarks. However, we hope that there will be no more offending statements on his part during the literary meet,” said BJP spokesman Madhav Bhandari, reacting to Dr. Sabnis’ apology. In his contentious remarks last week, Dr. Sabnis had chided Mr. Modi by dubbing him “a man forever smeared with the taint of the 2002 Gujarat riots” and a Prime Minister that “he would not endorse”. Following this, Dr. Sabnis was barraged by a string of death threats, including one allegedly from the fringe right-wing Sanatan Sanstha, after which he was accorded protection by the Pune police. The BJP had burned effigies of the author and had threatened to bar him from speaking at the event. Earlier, the Marathi Sahitya Sammelan committee had rallied around Dr. Sabnis by deciding to pass a resolution against “tendencies attempting to stifle freedom of speech in a democracy like India”. “We condemn the threats given to Dr. Sabnis and the forces responsible for the shocking murders of rationalist-thinkers Dr. Narendra Dabholkar, Govind Pansare and scholar M.M. Kalburgi.....free speech ought to countered by the same and not by bullets. We live in a democracy,” said author and documentary filmmaker Madhavi Vaidya, who is president of the Akhil Bharatiya Marathi Sahitya Mahamandal. The Sammelan, due to commence in Pimpri from January 15, is expected to witness a massive congregation of authors and poets from the Marathi literary fraternity. Dr. Sabnis, who will deliver the inaugural address at the meet, has prepared a 100-page speech covering a myriad of themes from communalism and rising intolerance to farmers’ suicides. -- Peace Is Doable -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "Green Youth Movement" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send an email to [email protected]. Visit this group at https://groups.google.com/group/greenyouth. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
