More Than Just A Courtesy Call?
His movie ‘Fanaa’ was banned from theaters across Gujarat in 2006 when he decided to stand by the ‘Narmada Bachao Andolan’. But that did not stop this ‘responsible star’ from meeting Narendra Modi to submit petitions gathered from a nationwide, loyal audience of his socially empowering TV Show Satyamev Jayate. While the PMO may have chosen to call this meeting a ‘courtesy call’, the actor tweeted hopefully about his new Prime Minister saying “He has assured me that he will look into all the matters”.
A quick look at the official website of Satyamev Jayate (http://www.satyamevjayate.in/) and you will know that Aamir Khan means business. After exhorting the entire nation to take a pledge to not sell its vote or vote for politicians with criminal charges, now with the new Government firmly in place he continues with an active, impact-driven follow up.
‘The results are out,’ says a section of the website dedicated to decriminalization of Politics. ‘The winners of the 2014 Lok Sabha elections have been declared. The people have made their decision.
However, from among the leaders who will shape the future of the country, almost one-third have criminal cases filed against them. That is, 186 (34%) out of the 541 winners whose details were analyzed by the Association of Democratic Reforms. This is a jump from the numbers for the 2009 elections, when, out of the 521 winners analyzed, 158 (30%) had declared criminal cases. If you were to look at the data through the party-wise lens, the picture remains grim. 98 (35%) out of 281 winners analyzed from the BJP, 8 (18%) out of 44 winners from the Congress, 6 (16%) out of 37 winners from the AIADMK, 15 (83%) out of 18 winners from the Shiv Sena and 7 (21%) out of 34 winners from the AITC have been charged with criminal cases. Given this scenario, it is imperative that we continue the struggle for the decriminalization of politics at every level of government.’
Aamir’s meeting with the PM clearly reflects on the Bollywood superstar’s commitment and passion that is embodied in his show’s tagline ‘Jinhe Desh ki Fikr hai…’ More power to Aamir who is currently busy with the next season of Satyamev Jayate, and here’s hoping that the ‘courtesy call’ translates into concrete action on the petitions (one petition per Show) that the star has submitted to Narendra Modi.
