No plans to censor theatre in Goa: BJP

Panaji, Feb 17 (IANS) Goa's ruling Bharatiya Janata Party Tuesday denied that it had any plans to set up a censor board for tiatrs (local theatre), even as the opposition attacked the state government for even considering such a move.

Speaking to reporters here, BJP state vice president Wilfred Mesquita said that "neither the government nor the BJP as a party have nothing on our minds about censoring tiatr".

"This is just a figment of imagination used by the opposition to attack the party," he said.

For thousands of Goans, especially Goan Catholics, the tiatr is more than just a play or a theatre outing. With its socially and politically relevant and organic themes, watching a tiatr show on weekends, religious feast days and holidays is like watching their own lives play out under bright lights, mixed with a bit of banter and slapstick fun and a touch of tragedy.

Interestingly, the roots of the tiatr are embedded not in an Indian art form, but owes its inspiration to Italian operettas which were a rage in colonial India, especially erstwhile Bombay.

The Congress Tuesday however charged the BJP-led government of being dictatorial in its effort to stifle the popular art form.

The allegation came on the heels of media reports which claimed that the government was weighing options over the issue of creating a censor board for tiatr.

"Tiatr are in fact public censors for what is wrong in society. The government will have to face a backlash from the Congress, as well as the tiatrists (tiatr-performers) if they do ahead with this dictatorial decision," Congress spokesperson Agnelo Fernandes said at a press conference.