Ban on Padmavati in poll-bound Gujarat

Gujarat Chief Minister Vijay Rupani said on Wednesday that film Padmavati was “hurting sentiments” and would not be screened in the poll bound state till issues were resolved.

Politician-turned-actor Shatrughan Sinha also joined row on the movie. he questioned Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Information and Broadcasting minister Smriti Irani over their silence on the issue. In the wake of growing controversy and protests by Rajput organisations and other groups.

Mr Rupani joined the chorus against the film’s release when he tweeted that “we believe in freedom of speech and expression but any foul play with our great culture is not tolerated.”

Mr Rupani became the fourth Chief Minister of a BJP ruled state after Uttar Pradesh’s Yogi Adityanath, Rajasthan’s Vasundhara Raje, Madhya Pradesh’s Shivraj Singh Chouhan, who have opposed the film.

Another BJP ruled state Haryana’s Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar had also said that the state government will arrive at a decision on director Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film only after censor board clears it.

Meanwhile, reiterating its stand against the film, Rajput Karni Sena said it is not against the film but against the distortion of the history. Karni Sena’s Lokendra Singh Kalvi said “freedom of expression” in terms of art cannot be tolerated when the feelings of millions of people hang in jeopardy. “We Rajputs are proud of our heritage and will not tolerate any conspiracy that threatens to shake our self-respect and honour. All we want is rectification of facts and editing of objectionable scenes before it is released for audience,” Mr Kalvi said.

Tweeting on the Padmavati controversy, BJP’s Patna Sahib MP Sharughan Sinha tweeted, “How come our I and B minister or our most popular Hon’ble PM (according to PEW) are maintaining stoic silence. High time!” referring to a recent survey by the Pew, an American think tank. The actor also asked why actors Amitabh Bachchan, Shah Rukh Khan and Aamir Khan were quiet on the row.