Sisodia, also the Art, Culture and Languages minister, was speaking at the 20th edition of the annual Jashn-e-Bahar 'mushaira' late on Friday night.
In a veiled attack on Prime Minister Narendra Modi-led NDA government at the Centre, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said that it is the people of a country who should decide what to eat or drink and not the "nizam" (ruler).
Sisodia, also the Art, Culture and Languages minister, was speaking at the 20th edition of the annual Jashn-e-Bahar 'mushaira' late on Friday night. " What the people should be eating or drinking, what is kept in my refrigerator, or being cooked in someone's kitchen... the 'nizaam' should not be deciding this, the country and its people should decide this," he said.
Charging that the "nizaam"now wanted to restrict even people's thoughts, he said, "We are very brave people to be talking about 'jashn' (celebration) and 'bahar' (spring) at a time when those in power want restrictions even on what people think."
The Dy CM said that such gatherings were significant for the country at this hour where people may find poets expressing the thoughts that they had been wanting to express. "There has never been a greater need for communal harmony than now... It is not only about a poetic symposium, it is about ideology," he said.
Sisodia, who described Urdu as the language of love and amity, said his government was working on a lot of initiatives for the language. Last year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government opened several Urdu literacy centres across the national Capital with an aim to popularise the language.
The 20th edition of the Jashn-e-Bahar mushaira witnessed participation of leading Urdu poets from India and abroad, including Abdullah Abdullah and Farhat Shahzaad from the US, So Yamane from Japan, Omar Salem al Aidroos from Saudi Arabia, Waseem Barelvi and Popular Meeruthi among others.
LANGUAGE OF LOVE
- Sisodia, who described Urdu as the language of love and amity, said his govt was working on many initiatives.
- In 2017, AAP govt opened many Urdu literacy centres across the national Capital to popularise the language.
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