Protesters must pay for public loss
States must hold fringe groups, like Karni Sena, responsible for spreading violence
The Rajput Karni Sena is by now notorious for its mindless obstructionism and lawlessness in its protest against the release of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s movie Padmaavat. It is mindless because the protesters have refused to see reason in the fact that the movie has been certified by the Central Board of Film Certification. It is lawless because of the sheer havoc it is wreaking over a swathe of north and west India. In the process, the once obscure organisation now regularly hits the headlines. Perhaps that was the objective all along. The sena and similar fringe outfits believe that the movie hurts Rajput pride by showing Queen Padmini in poor light. The protesters have refused to see reason, even after the Supreme Court stayed the decision of four states — Haryana, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan — to ban Padmaavat’s release. Reacting to this, Lokendra Singh Kalvi, the sena’s chief, told news agency IANS: “We will not allow the film to be released at any cost. The Supreme Court has directed the state governments to ensure release of the film, but not to us.” This is brazen disrespect of the top court. Interestingly, though, two of the states have chosen to react by filing please before the apex court, allowing them to ban the film. In many protests, the states have done little to stop the vandalism of public and private property.
Groups that led such protests must be held responsible and made to pay for the damage caused. In November, the apex court asked the Centre to form courts in every state to fix accountability for vandalism during protests and compensate the victims. This should also followed here as well.
Today the apex court will hear Rajasthan and Madhya Pradesh governments’ plea. Irrespective of the outcome of that, the state governments where protests are taking place must safeguard the rights of the film exhibitors and uphold the freedom of the agitators to hold peaceful protests.