'Anti-national bursting of firecrackers on Diwali...': Says pollution spoils children's health; Dia Mirza's video removed sparks controversy

Actress Alia Bhatt's mother Soni Razdan has termed the bursting of firecrackers on Diwali as anti-national. Sharing a post on Instagram late on Tuesday night, she called it a game with health and life. She wrote that small children are falling sick due to pollution and cannot go to school. Keeping in mind the possibility of controversy, Soni Razdan has closed the comment section on her post. Her statement came after the Bombay High Court ordered the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) to re-upload Dia Mirza's pollution-free Diwali video. 'Bursting even a single firecracker is anti-national and anti-life' Soni Razdan wrote that only parents of young children know how much their children suffer due to air pollution and how many days of their school are missed due to illness. She said that in such a situation, if someone says that bursting even a single firecracker on Diwali is right, then it seems against life, against health and against the country. She appealed to the people to make the right choice for themselves and their children's health. The controversy started when Dia Mirza's video was removed The entire controversy started when the BMC deleted the video with the message of Dia Mirza's pollution-free Diwali from its social media handle. However, the BMC retained the videos of Madhuri Dixit and cricketer Ajinkya Rahane. The video was made by Dia Mirza on the directions of the court. After the video was removed, Dia Mirza said that the video was made for public awareness and better health, as air pollution is a serious issue related to public health. The Bombay High Court came down heavily on the BMC after which the court directed the BMC to re-upload the video of Dia Mirza. The high court slammed the BMC administration and said that India is a secular country and the issue of environment is linked to every citizen, irrespective of religion or caste. The court said that the commissioner of the civic body had made a proper selection of artists to spread awareness and it was inappropriate to remove such videos. Expressing concern about children's health and school dropouts, Soni Razdan in her post mainly focused on the serious impact of rising pollution on children's health. He said that the festival of Diwali symbolizes the victory of light, knowledge and hope, but the damage caused by the smoke of firecrackers puts the lives of children in danger. He stressed that it is the right of every child to breathe in clean air and citizens should avoid activities that harm the environment.