FIR against Goan poet will be withdrawn: BJP official

A top BJP official on Tuesday assured that an FIR filed against ailing Goan poet Vishnu Wagh over his scathing criticism of the state's elite Gaud Saraswat Brahmin caste, will be withdrawn.

Wagh, who is bedridden following cardiac arrest more than a year ago, was booked last week after a women's organisation filed the FIR against him and publisher Hema Naik, alleging that the compilation of poems in Wagh's "Sudhir Sukta" book used deprecatory language against females.

State Bharatiya Janata Party Vice President Anil Hoble, who made the announcement at the party headquarters here, also said that the book contained no objectionable references, contrary to allegations made by a section of the state's caste elite, who have said that the book was targeting the influential Gaud Saraswat Brahmin community in Goa.

"The Chief Minister has assured us that the case will be closed after seeking expert opinion on the subject," Hoble told the media, adding that the state unit of the party was fully backing Wagh, who was also a deputy speaker of the Goa Legislative Assembly.

"The language used by Wagh is the same used by a common man, it was wrong to file an FIR against him."

"Sudhir Sukta" is a collection of poems penned by Wagh, which took graphic and at times, raunchy pot-shots at the state's influential Gaud Saraswat Brahmin community and brought to the fore the faultlines in Goa's relatively insidious but omnipresent caste hierarchy.

The book was released by Chief Minister Manohar Parrikar in 2013, who also incidentally hails from the same community.

The book was shortlisted for an award by the Goa Konkani Academy, but after the controversy the state government scrapped over 21 state awards, including the one for which "Sudhir Sukta" was nominated.

Parrikar, has however maintained that the awards were cancelled due to procedural lapses and "conflict of interest" issues.

"Wagh is currently bedridden and therefore should not be targeted," Hoble said, adding that the BJP was supportive of the contents of the book, because the compilation of poems was released by Parrikar himself.

"There is a restlessness in the party over the issue, that a poet and a former BJP MLA who has suffered two heart attacks is now being treated like this and harassed."

--IANS

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