BJP is using cinema for political propaganda: Akhilesh Yadav

The Samajwadi Party chief’s remarks come a day U.P. Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met a delegation from the film fraternity in Mumbai and welcomed them to the State

A day after Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath met a delegation from the film fraternity in Mumbai and welcomed them to the State, Samajwadi Party (SP) chief Akhilesh Yadav lashed out at the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), alleging that it uses cinema to further its political ideology.

“Cinema is considered a medium of entertainment. But the BJP has been using it as a tool to spread its political propaganda. The film fraternity is being divided by using the sword of hate driven by fear of the BJP,” Mr. Yadav tweeted in Hindi. Mr. Yadav’s reaction holds significance as, in his recent Mumbai tour, Mr. Adityanath pushed U.P. as a developing film-making and investment destination.

Mr. Yadav’s remark also points to the recent protests over the movie Pathaan, featuring Shah Rukh Khan and Deepika Padukone, with many BJP leaders raising objections to ‘Besharam Rang’, a song from it. In the past, the hashtag #BoycottBollywood has received traction on social media. Actor Sunil Shetty, during an interaction with Mr. Adityanath in Mumbai, and sought his help to ending such trends.

Mr. Yadav targeted Mr. Adityanath’s tour and said the BJP government should first understand the plight of businesses in Uttar Pradesh before holding a roadshow in Mumbai. “U.P. has lagged behind all other States in the race for development. Employment is not being created due to lack of capital investment from outside. The Chief Minister announced an investment of many lakh crores within a day of his stay in Mumbai. It would have been better if the BJP government had understood the plight of industries and businesses in Uttar Pradesh before holding a road show in Mumbai. Promoting big capitalists and eliminating medium and small industries and small traders is the deadly policy of the BJP,” the former Chief Minister said.

“Previous investors’ summits have not yielded any real results. There were many ceremonies on the signing of the MoU (Memorandum of Understanding), but not a single MoU has seen light of the day. Despite repeated demands, the government is not even releasing a White Paper on investment,” Mr. Yadav added.