Arth Culture Fest : Poet Ashok Vajpayee said on Friday that he He will not participate in the festival, which he was earlier supposed to participate in, because the organizers have asked him not to read poems critical of the government. However, the organizers said that no one asked them to limit their views.

Ashok Vajpayee wrote on Facebook…

Ashok Bajpai was to participate in a poetry session along with other poets including Anamika, Badri Narayan, Dinesh Kushwaha and Manav Kaul at the three-day Earth Culture Fest organized by Zee at Sunder Nursery on Friday. Rekhta Foundation is collaborating with the organizers of the poetry session. Poet Ashok Vajpayee wrote on Facebook, I am not participating in the culture fest organized by Arth and Rekhta, because I was asked to read poems that do not directly criticize politics or the government. Such restriction is unacceptable.

I am not in favor of censorship: Vajpayee

75 Poet Ashok Vajpayee later told news agency PTI that he had planned to recite the seven choruses. He said that a person from Rekhta approached me and asked if I would read a poem with political connotations. I told him how poetry could be non-political, so he asked me to stay away from it. He said that I am not in favor of such censorship, so I am not getting involved in it. 701-2008 Ashok Vajpayee, who was the President of the Lalit Kala Akademi, has been among those well-known personalities who have protested against the attack on the right to life and freedom of expression 643 returned his Sahitya Akademi Award.

The spokesperson of Arth Utsav said this

Meanwhile, a spokesperson for Arth Utsav said that Ashok Vajpayee is welcome to share his views and that the event is hosting speakers who have been actively speaking out against the establishment. He said that neither the directors nor the organizers of the festival have asked him to limit any ideas. We appreciate different perspectives and views and welcome speakers from all sections of society. This year’s edition is hosting some of the best speakers, including those who have been actively speaking out against the establishment. He said that the festival provides a neutral platform for the speakers and does not play any role in restricting their freedom of expression. We look forward to hosting Shri Vajpayee ji at the festival, said the spokesperson.

Rekhta Foundation refutes Vajpayee’s claim

A spokesperson for the Rekhta Foundation also refuted Vajpayee’s claim and said that neither Rekhta nor the organizers of JI had made such a demand to any poet in the session. We asked everyone what they were planning to recite in the session, but that was only so that we could add it to their introduction in the programme,’ Satish Gupta, Head of Communications, Rekhta Foundation, told PTI. We or ji never told him that he cannot read political poems. If it were true, we would have said the same to everyone. Gupta also clarified that the Rekhta Foundation is organizing only the poetry session and not the full cultural festival, which begins on Friday.

Ashok VajpayeeSahityaPublished Date

Fri, Feb 24, 2023, 9: 58 PM IST