Summary:
Patna, Jan 25 (PTI) Senior JD(U) leader Upendra Kushwaha on Tuesday demanded slapping of sedition charge on dramatist Daya Prakash Sinha and proscription of his Sahitya Akademi winning play "Samrat Asoka" which allegedly denigrated the emperor of Magadh in ancient India.
Kushwaha, who is a key political aide of Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar, claimed that Sinha had portrayed Asoka in a derogatory manner in his play and added insult to injury by likening the Maurya emperor to Mughal ruler Aurangzeb in a recent interview.
"Sinha has not acted inadvertently.
He symbolizes a mindset that is using the denigration of Asoka to test whether or not we can rise up in protest," said Kushwaha who took out a "Shaurya Yatra" (valour march) as a mark of reverence for the legendary ruler of Magadha, which was in modern day Bihar.
He defended the sedition case demand contending "Asoka is the pride of Bihar and a national icon.
His insult is an insult to the country".