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Shobhaa De Has Been Asked To Apologise For Tweeting Against Maharashtra Govt's Latest Order

This Is Getting Ridiculous: Privilege Motion Filed Against Shobhaa De For Critical Tweets
Indian writer and columnist Shobhaa De poses with newly-launched 'Cocktail Sarees' she designed during a press conference at Mebaz show room in Hyderabad, 21 November 2007. Shobhaa De unveiled her latest range of cocktail sarees. AFP PHOTO / NOAH SEELAM (Photo credit should read NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)
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Indian writer and columnist Shobhaa De poses with newly-launched 'Cocktail Sarees' she designed during a press conference at Mebaz show room in Hyderabad, 21 November 2007. Shobhaa De unveiled her latest range of cocktail sarees. AFP PHOTO / NOAH SEELAM (Photo credit should read NOAH SEELAM/AFP/Getty Images)

As we reported on Tuesday, a lot of people had a lot of opinions about the Maharashtra government's order to multiplexes — that they should screen at least one Marathi film during the 'prime-time' slots between 6 pm and 9 pm everyday.

However, in a strange and worrying move, Shobhaa De has somehow been singled out for her reaction to the move. On Wednesday, it was reported by IBNLive that a Shiv Sena MLA has filed a privilege motion against the well-known columnist/author for her tweets, demanding an apology from her.

On Tuesday, like many people on Twitter, De had tweeted the following, criticising the Devendra-Fadnavis-led government's decision.

Devendra 'Diktatwala' Fadnavis is at it again!!!From beef to movies. This is not the Maharashtra we all love! Nako!Nako! Yeh sab roko!

— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) April 7, 2015

I love Marathi movies. Let me decide when and where to watch them, Devendra Fadnavis. This is nothing but Dadagiri.

— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) April 7, 2015

No more pop corn at multiplexes in Mumbai? Dahi misal and vada pav only. To go better with the Marathi movies at prime time .

— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) April 7, 2015

Upon learning of the reaction, De reacted incredulously.

Now a privilege motion demanding an apology from me? Come on! I am a proud Maharashtrian and love Marathi films. Always have. Always will !

— Shobhaa De (@DeShobhaa) April 8, 2015

Meanwhile, the BJP-led government has continued to defend its decision, with the party's national spokesperson GVL Rao being quoted as saying, "It is the duty of Maharashtra government to encourage Marathi culture, a valid move to protect and thrive (sic) its language."

While the intention is noble, it does seem that the way in which this diktat is being enforced isn't exactly kosher.

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This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.