Nizamuddin Event Dangerous, Criminal Act: 'secularist' Aparna Sen

Kolkata, Apr 4 (PTI) Identifying herself as "a secularist & a liberal", eminent filmmaker Aparna Sen on Saturday described the Tablighi Jamaat congregation at Delhi's Nizamuddin as "a dangerous & criminal act" and demanded punishment for the organisers.

Sen also said she cannot support anything illegal, whoever commits it.

Thousands of people across the country and abroad had attended the religious event between March 13 and 15 after the Delhi government had promulgated orders prohibiting gatherings or more than 200 persons. Many of the attendees later tested positive for COVID-19 and six of them died in Telangana.

"The Jamat gathering was a dangerous & criminal act & must not go unpunished! Yes, I am a secularist & a liberal, but I cannot support any act that goes against the laws of my country by anyone, whether they be Hindu, Muslim, Christian, Jew, Sikh, Aethist [sic], Agnostic or whatever!" Sen posted on her Twitter handle.

On a comment by a Twitter user named 'Opinionated Feminist' that "All the communities have flouted laws and had much bigger congregations post jamat", Sen said, "I am not singling out Jamat, but don't want to engage in Whataboutery."

"Any religious or non-religious gathering that spreads the virus is equally culpable. I also feel that blaming ALL Muslims because the actions of a few is equally wrong!" she said.

The filmmaker had in past often tweeted against alleged intolerance, air of hatred and 'lynching of minority community members'.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)