A few days ago, over 600 theatre artists and celebrities had issued a joint statement asking people to vote bigotry, hatred, and apathy out of power in the upcoming Lok Sabha polls. The Signatories claimed that the Constitution and various institutions are under constant threat and have been suffocated under the present dispensation.

Some of the ‘prominent personalities’ who signed the statement were: Amol Palekar, Anurag Kashyap, Dolly Thakore, Lillete Dubey, Naseeruddin Shah, Abhishek Majumdar, Anamika Haksar, Navtej Johar, MK Raina, Mahesh Dattani, Konkona Sen Sharma, Ratna Pathak Shah, and Sanjna Kapoor.

Congress had also shared a video in which not only were the Bollywood personalities exhorting people to vote but they were also sending a nuanced message of voting against the Modi government by repeating the pseudo-liberals’ favorite bogey of rising intolerance, fascism, hatred and other assorted notions that appear to favour Congress.

Bollywood has one message to the people of India: Vote karo, magar soch samajh ke. pic.twitter.com/ibnK78hArf — Congress (@INCIndia) April 9, 2019

In response to this, eminent actor, Ranvir Shorey today uploaded a video on Twitter, taking a dig at the celebrities trying to influence the voter psyche. Shorey said, “Along with urging people to come out and vote, some artists are even suggesting what should be the thought-process for casting their votes.” Shorey was alluding to the anti-BJP stance that writers and actors have stressed upon while urging people to vote.

My fellow Indians, in the fine tradition of entertainers talking politics, here is my pre #Elections2019 special. Watch and share. Jai Hind. pic.twitter.com/VXyglWAJZb — रanviर_ डhoरeय_ (@RanvirShorey) April 10, 2019

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Ranvir Shorey further continued, “Have the current problems in our country appeared only during the last 5 years? Was our country on the right track before 2014? Did we not have any riots in the country before these 5 years? Weren’t the poor butchered or killed in the name of religion before as well? Weren’t unemployment and hunger key problems then? It is right to hold a 5-year-old government responsible for all these problems? 5 years are not enough to solve all the problems of such a large country.

Slamming the Congress party, Shorey said, “Those who couldn’t fix the problems in 60 years are now talking about NYAY. Is it fair that a single family rules over the country generation after generation?” In an apparent swipe at the Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Shorey asserted that those who live in Palaces, whose family has been ruling the country for decades cannot understand the growing resentment among the common people. Shorey also added that people should value their own thinking and vote based on their own judgment rather than getting influenced by others.