Mumbai Mayor Ritu Tawde has said actress Dia Mirza will not be included in any civic programme, including appearances on the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s official portal, amid a political dispute over her campaign urging a pollution-free Diwali. The mayor’s remarks have taken a public discussion about festival-related pollution into the arena of municipal communication and political representation.
According to a report by Navbharat Times – Mumbai, Tawde said the civic administration would not include Mirza in its programmes because she had allegedly trolled Prime Minister Narendra Modi. The mayor said the position was being taken both as mayor and as a representative of the Bharatiya Janata Party.
Tawde was also quoted as saying that the BMC would not give space on its official portal to anyone who opposed Hindutva. The report said the statement followed objections from Mumbai BJP president Amit Satam, after which the BMC removed a video featuring Mirza from its social media accounts.
The immediate dispute began around Mirza’s pollution-free Diwali campaign, although the supplied report does not reproduce the actress’s original statement or specify the exact wording of the campaign. The controversy has nevertheless brought two questions into the same civic debate: how Mumbai communicates public-health and environmental messages during festivals, and how political disagreements can affect access to official municipal platforms.
Union minister of state Ramdas Athawale also criticised Mirza, according to the report. Athawale said people of all religions have the constitutional right to celebrate their festivals, while adding that care should be taken to prevent excessive pollution. He said guidelines had already been issued under which certain fireworks could be used, and objected to Mirza’s comments on the festival.
BJP leader Shrikant Bhartiya said Mirza should reflect before telling others how to celebrate Diwali. He added that the party was not opposed to any religion and said Hindus had historically been concerned about the environment. BJP MLA Sanjay Upadhyay connected the dispute to other festivals, citing debates around water use during Holi, safety during Dahi Handi, noise during Navratri and the use of plaster of Paris idols during Ganeshotsav.
Upadhyay also compared local Diwali fireworks pollution with environmental damage caused by wars abroad, arguing that the latter receives less attention. The report does not provide air-quality measurements, pollution data or an official BMC explanation of the video’s removal beyond the political objections described in the story.
The episode leaves the BMC’s official communication policy at the centre of the dispute. The available report records the mayor’s position and statements by political figures, but does not establish whether the civic body has issued a formal written order concerning Mirza’s participation in future programmes. It also does not report a response from Mirza or provide details of any subsequent decision by the BMC. Further developments will depend on whether the civic administration formally clarifies its policy on the use of official platforms for public environmental messaging.
