Under attack over his reported remarks that writers returning their Akademi awards “should stop writing”, Culture Minister Mahesh Sharma on Tuesday sought to clarify that he cannot stop anybody from airing one’s views, though he insisted that returning awards was a “wrong” move.
“I did not say that they should stop writing. How can I stop anybody from expressing his views. We are with them in condemning the murders -- be it of writers like <g data-gr-id="29">M M</g> Kalburgi or the killing at Dadri. Nobody is saying that anyone’s murder is justified. This is a law and order problem.
“We are with them in condemning it. Action should be taken against whoever is guilty,” the minister said.
“Our request is that this is not a subject on which they should resign. In my opinion, it does not serve the purpose.
Returning <g data-gr-id="27">awards for this reason</g> is wrong. The Akademi, which has given them awards is an institution of authors and they have been given the award for their work. But what can we do if you want to return awards in protest,” Sharma told reporters. The Union minister came under sharp attack from Ashok Vajpeyi, one of the eminent writers returning his Sahitya Akademi awards.