A Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) affiliate, Sanskar Bharti, on Saturday came out in support of eminent artistes who have been asked to vacate their government accommodation by December 31 and urged the government to re-think its decision.
Sanskar Bharti said in a statement that its national general secretary Amir Chand had met some of the artistes who have been issued eviction notices by the Housing and Urban Affairs Ministry, including Birju Maharaj, Bhajan Sopori and Wasifuddin Dagar.
After meeting the artistes, he said the government should rethink the decision, looking at the contribution of the artistes, their age and seniority, the statement said. The government should also consider a policy for providing accommodation to younger artistes, it said.
The government's policy had been to provide aid to people during the COVID-19 pandemic and evicting the artistes from the houses given to them for years at this time would not be humane, the Sanskar Bharti said. The statement added that the government should take action in the case of wrong allotment or violation of the rules by some.
With the COVID-19 pandemic ongoing, it said it would take a long time for cultural activities to re-start and decisions that add to the problems faced by artistes shouldn’t be taken.
