After Gujarati actor/producer Aarti Vyas Patel claimed on Twitter that her name was falsely added to a list of filmmakers who signed a statement urging the public not to vote for the BJP in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, the body behind the statement has clarified that it is in fact another filmmaker named Aarti Patel who has supported them.
On Sunday, the official handle of the Congress party shared The Quint’s story on the 100+ filmmakers who made the joint statement under the name Artist Unite India. Aarti Vyas Patel retweeted the Congress, adding “It's fake.. I don't know from where they have got the names, may be from a film directory. I haven't given any statement nor signed any appeal.”
BJP supporters on social media began to troll the Congress as well The Quint while commending Aarti who maintained that the list of filmmakers found on the Artist Unite India website was ‘fake.’
Now Artist Unite India has responded on Twitter, clarifying that the Aarti Patel named on their website is a different filmmaker and that Aarti Vyas Patel’s claims are ‘baseless.’
“We have obtained express permission from all the film makers who have signed the statement. The allegation by @aartivyaspatel is baseless and made without enquiring if there is any other film maker named Aarti Patel in this country,” they wrote. “Aarti Patel signed in the statement is an independent film maker from Pune and she has reiterated her solidarity through emails to us.”
Meanwhile Artist Unite India’s statement recently added filmmakers Pa Ranjith, Lijo Jose Pellissery and Rajeev Ravi to its signatories.