‘Pathaan’ row | Leave it to Censor Board to clear films, says BSP MP in Lok Sabha

During Zero Hour, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demands discussion on J&K, BJP MP from Jharkhand raises the issue of brutal murder of a tribal woman in the State

The threat of banning a Hindi film by people supporting the ruling party was part of key issues raised during the Zero Hour in the Lok Sabha on Monday as Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) member Danish Ali raised the issue and asserted that the job of clearing films should be left to the Central Board of Film Certification.

Mr. Ali’s comment was made in the backdrop of a controversy created by a song of the Shahrukh Khan and Deepika Padukone-starrer Pathaan. The Chair, however, expunged specific references to any particular film or its star cast.

The BSP MP alleged that people linked to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) were demanding a ban on the film because it has hurt feelings of the Hindu community and similar demands were also made by an Ulema board.

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“It is a new trend, those in the government are demanding that the film be banned... Someone from the Ulema board also said a film should be banned,” Mr. Ali said, adding, “The job of banning movies should be left to the censor board. There are many artistes among our members. Sanatan Dharma is not so weak that it would be in danger due to someone wearing a colour... Nor is Islam so weak that a movie may hurt it”.

During the Zero Hour, Congress leader in the Lok Sabha Adhir Ranjan Chowdhury demanded a discussion on Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) as “innocent civilians are losing their lives, at times by the terrorists’ bullet, and at times due to the mistakes of the forces”.