Mumbai, Nov. 3 -- Mayor Ritu Tawde on Monday lashed out at actor Dia Mirza over her participation in the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation's (BMC) firecracker free Diwali campaign, saying she did not need to tell Hindus how to celebrate their festival. Tawde also reprimanded the BMC administration for including Mirza in the campaign, saying the decision was taken without consulting the civic body's elected political leadership. "Dia Mirza does not need to teach us how Hindus should celebrate Diwali. We know how to celebrate our own Diwali. Her selective agenda is becoming increasingly evident. That is why we opposed her video," Tawde told reporters after the BMC removed Mirza's campaign video from its website and social media accounts. The video, featuring Mirza's appeal to citizens not to burst firecrackers or contribute to air and noise pollution, was removed after BJP Mumbai president Ameet Satam objected to the actor's participation in the anti-firecracker campaign. "We don't need lessons on how to celebrate #Diwali from @deespeak. Our traditions are deeply rooted in our culture," Satam wrote in a post on X, tagging the BMC. Tawde referred to Satam's post and said it represented the position of all BJP corporators. "Ameet Satamji is the Mumbai BJP president, and the BMC corporators are working under his guidance. Any tweet posted by Ameetji represents the views of all corporators," she said. The mayor accused Mirza of repeatedly opposing Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his initiatives, trolling him, and taking positions against Hindutva. She clarified that though Mumbai belongs to people of all religions and she and other BJP corporators worked for everyone, their agenda was Hindutva. "If anyone speaks against Hindutva, Hindus or Hindu culture, every BJP worker will take to the streets and give them a fitting response," she said. The mayor said that she was unaware of Mirza's association with the BMC's campaign and insisted that names of celebrities proposed to be included in civic initiatives must be brought to her notice and approved by her in advance. "The BMC administration must understand that there is an elected Mayor in office now; this is no longer the administrator's rule," she said. "There has been a 100% mistake on their part. They uploaded a list of celebrities without showing it to us or taking our approval." Deputy mayor Sanjay Ghadi from the Eknath Shinde-led Shiv Sena questioned the objections to Mirza's campaign video. He said the actor had done nothing wrong by urging citizens to refrain from bursting firecrackers and saw no reason for the removal of her video from the BMC portal. Municipal commissioner Ashwini Bhide did not respond to HT's requests for a comment. Responding to the controversy, Mirza told reporters, "Why should anyone be critical of a video that the Honourable Bombay High Court and BMC have made me record in the public interest? Air Pollution is an area of concern, and all efforts to reduce pollution should be welcomed because it's a matter of public health." Congress group leader in the BMC Ashraf Azmi objected to the removal of Mirza's campaign video from the civic body's platforms. In a letter to the BMC administration, Azmi said that though videos featuring other celebrities such as Madhuri Dixit and Ajinkya Rahane were retained, Mirza's video was removed following objections by Mumbai BJP president Ameet Satam. HT too found several videos featuring other celebrities on BMC's social media channels. Azmi referred to the controversy as an instance of politicisation of public awareness campaigns, and said that environmental protection and public health should not be viewed through a religious or political lens....