Published 17:00 IST, February 26th 2020
Chetan Bhagat concedes after Anupam Kher rebuts his '1947-2020' lament about India
Chetan Bhagat and Anupam Kher have engaged in commentary and counter-commentary about India's situation, amid the violence in Delhi, with the author conceding
Amid the ongoing unrest in the national capital city Delhi, which has been rocked by violence in the last few days, author Chetan Bhagat took to his Twitter handle to air his views on India's situation. Bhagat pointed out how India in 1947 and 2020 have been fighting on the same issue of communalism - 'Hindu Muslim' as he put it - while the rest of the world has progressed.
Reacting to this, Bollywood actor Anupam Kher refuted Bhagat and wrote that his comment can be a 'smart tweet' but is 'far from the truth'. He also pointed out that India has achieved immense success in the last 72 years.
Bhagat, defending himself, conceded that Kher was right but 'it was heartbreaking to see people in India still doing Hindu-Muslim'.
The Delhi violence
Violence has broken out in several areas in northeast Delhi, forcing the application of Section 144 as well as other strict curbs. Additional security forces have been called in amid the rampant stone-pelting, destruction of public and private property, arson and assorted wanton destruction. Amid the rampant violence, Union Home Minister Amit Shah chaired a meeting on the prevailing law and order situation in the national capital at noon on Tuesday and then again in the evening. Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal, Police Commissioner Amulya Patnaik, Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, Congress leader Subhash Chopra, BJP leader Manoj Tiwari, and other officials participated in the first meeting, and in the second one, the Delhi Police was given a free hand to quell the violence.
Additionally, the Home Ministry deputed SN Shrivastava as the Special Commissioner of Delhi Police (Law and Order), while in a more recent and significant development, NSA Ajit Doval has inspected the protest sites and has been charged with reining in the violence. He visited them once again on Wednesday afternoon.
Updated 17:00 IST, February 26th 2020