Over 900 artistes, including Shankar Mahadevan, Vivek Oberoi urge people to vote for BJP

More than 900 artistes, including Shankar Mahadevan, Anuradha Paudwal and Vivek Oberoi on Wednesday issued a joint statement asking people to vote for the BJP and said that the country needs a “Majboot Sarkar” not a “Majboor Sarkar”.

"It is our firm conviction that the continuance of government led by Prime Minister Narendra Modi is the need of the hour. Besides, when challenges like terrorism are before all of us, we need a 'Majboot Sarkar' not a 'Majboor Sarkar' and hence we need the present government to continue," said the statement.

The artists appealed to the people to cast their vote without any pressure and prejudice.

Among those who have issued the joint statement are Shankar Mahadevan, Triloki Nath Mishra, Koena Mitra, Anuradha Paudwal and Hans Raj Hans.

The list also includes Vishwa Mohan Bhatt, Raja and Radha Reddy, Ustad Wasifuddin Dagar, Ram Sutar, Pandit Jasraj, Ustad Ghulam Mustafa Khan, Malini Awasthi, Pallavi Joshi. 

The joint statement said that during the last five years, India has seen a government which delivered "corruption-free good governance and development-oriented administration".

The joint statement comes a week after more than 600 theatre personalities, including Amol Palekar, Naseeruddin Shah, Girish Karnad and Usha Ganguli, had signed a letter asking people to "vote BJP and its allies" out of power, arguing that the idea of India and its constitution are under threat.

Over a hundred filmmakers from across India issued a joint statement urging voters to “do everything in their capacity to keep this harmful regime from coming back to power” and asked them to instead choose “a government that respects the Constitution of India, protects our freedom of speech and expression, and refrains from all kinds of censorship.”

The letter, which was issued Thursday evening in 12 languages on the Artist Unite India website, said the upcoming Lok Sabha elections are the "most critical in the history" of the country.