Aparna Sen criticises artistes joining Bharatiya Janata Party in Bengal

Filmmaker and actress Aparna Sen has always been vocal about contemporary social and political issues. As a host of Bengali film and television artistes joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) recently, Sen said these artistes are always going to be with the parties in power. The actress was speaking to the news agency PTI

Parno Mittra, Rupanjana Mitra, Kanchana Moitra, Anindya Pulak Banerjee and Rishi Kaushik, among others, joined the BJP at its headquarters in the presence of Dilip Ghosh, the unit head of BJP and senior functionary Mukul Roy.

Sen further commented, “The actors were with the CPI(M) when it was in power, rallied behind Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee when she took over the reins of the state and are switching over to the BJP when it is gaining ground.” She explained that the trend has begun because they can sense that the current chief minister Mamata Banejee might not be in power in near future. “People leave the sinking ship and go where the power is. It’s a common human instinct,” she added.

Sen, who has always been a supporter of the idea of a strong opposition no matter which party remains in power, said she doesn’t care about these actors and do not want to think about them. On the other hand, she is also of the opinion that Hindi film actors have a nation-wide audience and hence, they think twice before publicizing their political stands.

Sen also mentioned that BJP is gaining ground in West Bengal because of the lack of opposition. However, she also added, “I think the Left and the Congress need to rise again. Because apart from anything else we need a strong opposition.”