Organizers of Lav Kush Ramleela must revoke their decision to cast Poonam Pandey: Delhi BJP

New Delhi, Sep 20 (IANS) A new controversy has erupted after the famous Luv Kush Ramleela Committee in Delhi signed model-actress Poonam Pandey to play ‘Mandodari’, Ravana’s wife, with the ruling dispensation in the capital, the BJP and VHP condemning this decision.

In a media statement, Praveen Shankar Kapoor, media head of the Delhi BJP unit and senior Vice President of the Lav Kush Ramleela Committee, “has strongly condemned the committee’s decision to cast controversial model Poonam Pandey in the role of Mandodari in the Ramleela.”

Kapoor has written to Arjun Kumar (President) and Subhash Goyal (Secretary) of the Lav Kush Ramleela Committee, expressing his opposition to the inclusion of Poonam Pandey in the Ramleela cast.

In his letter, he stated, "The model Poonam Pandey has never portrayed any positive role in films and is known primarily for spreading obscenity and vulgarity on social media. She is only recognised for her controversial actions.”

He told the senior office-bearers of the Ramleela Committee that assigning a role to Poonam Pandey does not align with the dignity and ethos of the Lav Kush Ramleela.

The letter further states that the Delhi branch of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad has also condemned the casting of Poonam Pandey, and this decision has deeply hurt the sentiments of millions of devotees. “Therefore, the organisers of the Lav Kush Ramleela must revoke this decision,” the letter said.

It is pertinent to note here that Poonam Pandey is not new to controversies.

Back in 2011, she announced that she would strip if Indian won the 2011 World Cup.

Similarly, in 2024, her team falsely announced her death due to cervical cancer, which became a social media sensation, but later revealed that it was just a stunt to raise awareness about the disease, which was later condemned by the public, and she had to face a lot of criticism.

--IANS

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