Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday lauded “The Kashmir Files”, a movie focusing on the plight of Kashmiri Pandits, for “unearthing the truth”. The PM also came down heavily on those criticising it saying they are part of the “eco-system” around and don’t do justice to the self-espoused concept of freedom of expression.
The movie has been made tax-free by eight BJP-ruled States — Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Tripura, Goa, Karnataka, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Haryana.
Written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, the film depicts the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Muslim-majority Kashmir valley in the 1990. Starring Anupam Kher, Darshan Kumar, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi among others, the movie has stirred a running debate on the Kashmiri Pundits ouster from the valley. Many in the social media has demanded a probe into the what they called “ethnic cleansing”.
Modi, who was addressing the Parliamentary party meeting first time after BJP’s thumping election victory in four of the five State Assembly elections, praised the film saying “truth should be unearthed”.
A day before, director of the film Agnihotri along with the cast of the film met Modi at the latter’s residence.
The Prime Minister strongly hit out at those who he said were “criticising the film” and blamed it on what he said was the “eco-system” around, saying liberal voices are not doing justice to the concept of freedom of expression.
Modi said “no one could do a film on the Emergency or the partition of India. There is no authentic film ...now a film on Kashmir and people are creating ‘hangama’ …the flag bearers of freedom of expression discrediting the film…”
“Truth should be placed before the people…critics could make their own film if they don’t like this,” he was quoted as saying.
Modi who was felicitated by the party nudged the BJP president J P Nadda to come under the garland, acknowledging him being at the helm of the party.
At the start of the meeting, BJP MPs observed a two-minute silence to pay tributes to singer Lata Mangeshkar, who died on February 6 and a student who was killed in Ukraine.
Union Ministers Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Piyush Goyal, Pralhad Joshi, and others also attended the meeting.
Pitching on the BJP’s anti-dynasty plank, the Prime Minister conveyed to the party MPs that it is at his behest that many children of party MPs were “denied tickets” in the recently held Assembly elections.
Modi made it clear in the meeting that the BJP would not allow anyone perpetuating dynasty in the party saying he disapproves of it.
“If it is a sin not to give tickets to the children of BJP MPs, then ‘yes I have committed a sin’, “ Modi is understood to have said during his address.
BJP MPs who attending the meeting said Modi sought to send a “strong message” to the BJP Parliamentarians, making it clear “that dynasty politics and nepotism would not be allowed in the party”.
“Dynasty is dangerous for democracy, we have to fight against it. If anyone’s candidature was rejected, that’s my responsibility”, Modi told BJP MPs.
The Prime Minister has been focusing on the need to finish-off dynasty politics in the country during Assembly election campaigning as also in his victory speech post poll results.
The MPs were also briefed on the evacuation of Indian nationals from Ukraine.