National Commission for SC/ST summons Mumbai police chief for failing to take action against television show on Star One.
Mumbai police chief summoned for alleged slur on scheduled castes
NEW DELHI: The National Commission for SC/ST is getting ready to wipe out the smiles from the Laughter Challenge. The Commission has summoned the Mumbai Police chief for failing to take action against the artists and producer of the popular TV show on Star One - The Laughter Challenge Part II — after derogatory words were used for the Scheduled Castes during one of its episodes.
The problem began when two Pakistani artists - Irfan and Ali Hussain - used derogatory words during a programme on June 16, 2006. The Commission received written complaints from two Delhi citizens - Dilip Kumar and Arvind Jain — who strongly objected to the words used. The Commission viewed the CDs and found the complaint to be correct. “While these Pakistani artists were trying to be at their wittiest best, the judges of the programme, Shekhar Suman, Navjot Sidhu and Sunil Shetty also found it funny and participated in the joke,” said Phool Chand Verma, member of the Commission. The Commission is also seeking a public apology from the head of Star One, Pankaj Saraswat and the artists for the error and wants a case to be registered against the two Pakistani artists under Section 3 (1) (10) of SC/ST (Prevention of Atrocities) Act, 1989.
When contacted, one of the judges Navjot Sidhu, said, “I was there just as a judge. It is for the channel head to sort it out,” Sidhu said. “Use of such derogatory words by icons and artists send a wrong message. The two Pakistani artistes may not be aware of the laws, but it was the duty of the producer and channel head to edit that goof-up,” Verma told DNA.
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