Sir — This refers to the editorial, “Choosing the wrong time” (November 22). You have rightly said that an international film festival is not the appropriate occasion to vent political ire. But Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Manish Tewari has a different approach.
He used the official platform of the International Film Festival of India, in Goa, to irrelevantly hit the Bharatiya Janata Party and its prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi.
Before joining the Government, Mr Tewari frequently and freely targeted the BJP and Mr Modi and other detractors of the Congress. In the run-up to Anna Hazare’s fast at Ramlila Maidan in New Delhi in August 2011, the Minister had passed derogatory remarks about Mr Hazare and said that he was “corrupt from head to toe”. He was slapped with a legal notice and had to tender a written apology.
On the BJP’s demand of Bharat Ratna to Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the Minister commented that Mr Vajpayee had failed to follow rajdharma in the case of 2002 Gujarat violence. Mr Tiwari is too small a fry to comment on tall leaders like Mr Vajpayee. He must realise his dwarf-like status.