Mixing arts and politics: Naseeruddin Shah, Anurag Kashyap and others appeal to vote against BJPApril 5 (AZINS) Notwithstanding his failed attempt in 2013 by propping up a website to 'expose' then Gujarat CM Narendra Modi, actor Naseeruddin Shah has again taken up the cudgel to stop BJP from coming back to power.

Shah and other theatre actors from across the country have come together with an appeal to vote against BJP and its allies. Prominent among the people who have made the appeal apart from Naseer are Anmol Palekar, Anurag Kashyap, Dolly Thakore, Lillete Dubey, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah, Manav Kaul and Chandan Roy Sanyal. The statement released in 12 languages (English, Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, Marathi, Malayalam, Kannada, Assamese, Telugu, Panjabi, Konkani and Urdu). It appealed that people should 'vote bigotry, hatred, and apathy out of power'.

"To question, to call out lies, to speak the truth, is branded ‘anti-national’," read the statement. For the uninitiated, Naseeruddin has been called a traitor in the past. RSS' Indresh Kumar had called the actor and Aamir Khan traitors in January this year.

Calling out how the ruling party is a threat, the statement read, "Today, that very idea of India is under threat. Today, song, dance, laughter is under threat. Today, our beloved Constitution is under threat." It further read, "The seeds of hatred have entered our food, prayers and festivals. The ways in which this hatred has seeped into our daily fabric are alarming and it has to STOP."

They concluded the plea by stating, "Vote to empower the weakest, protect liberty, protect the environment, and foster scientific thinking. Vote for secular democratic, inclusive India. Vote for the freedom to dream. Vote wisely."

Interestingly a similar appeal was made previously. Over 100 filmmakers and 200 writers, including Girish Karnad, had made a similar appeal. They all pointed out that there needed to be clearance from 'hate politics'. Meanwhile the general elections would be held from April 11 to May 19 in seven phases. The votes would be counted on May 23.