MEERUT: After strong protests from the BJP's local unit in Meerut, the district administration - citing "law and order issues" - asked the organisers of the renowned 'All India Mushaira' to remove the name of award-winning Urdu poetess Shabeena Adeeb from the list of invitees on the eve of the event. Members of the ruling party in Meerut had accused Adeeb of "making anti-Modi and anti-Yogi remarks" in the past.
Adeeb's support for anti-CAA protesters in Delhi's
Shaheen Bagh
locality also allegedly did not go down well with them.
BJP district president, Suresh Jain Rituraj, told TOI: "A controversial video of Adeeb has come to the fore, following which, we suspected that she would become a threat to the law and order situation in Meerut. So, we spoke to the administration and they prevented her presence here."CDO, Nupur Goel, said, "If the presence of an individual creates a law and order problem, we have to take care of it."
On Friday, the party's Meerut unit spokesperson, Amit Sharma, had called a "meeting" under the chairmanship of district president and mayor to protest before the additional municipal commissioner against Adeeb's presence at the event. The meeting was later "called off".
Dr Mairajuddin Ahmed, a member of the organising committee, meanwhile, said, "Resentment perhaps stemmed from some of the 'nazm' (verses of poetry) she recited in a 'mushaira' 15 years ago. Poets never think about the outcome of their words when they write something. And this is not the first time a poet has recited poems on societal concerns. It happened during the independence movement as well. Shabeena Adeeb told us that she is under the weather and can't attend the event." Adeeb was unavailable to comment on the matter.
English (US) ·