CBFC urged to stop release of Kangana Ranaut-starrer ‘Emergency’

Shiromani Akali Dal's Delhi unit says the movie has the potential to incite communal tension and spread misinformation

New Delhi: The Shiromani Akali Dal‘s Delhi unit has urged the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) to stop the release of Kangana Ranaut-starrer ‘Emergency’, saying the film has the potential to incite communal tension and spread misinformation.

Ranaut, a BJP MP, stars in the role of former Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in the film that will hit the screens September 6. In his letter to the board on Wednesday, the party’s Delhi president Paramjit Singh Sarna said the trailer of the film, which was released recently, “depicts erroneous historical facts that not only misrepresent the Sikh community but also promotes hatred and social discord”.

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Such depictions are not only misleading but also deeply offensive and damaging to the social fabric of Punjab and the entire nation, he said.

The Emergency, imposed on June 25, 1975, by the then Gandhi-led Congress government, saw a suspension of civil rights for nearly two years. Sarna said, “Given the potential of this film to incite communal tensions and spread misinformation, I strongly urge the CBFC to exercise its authority to prevent its release.”

He said that a “thick line must be drawn between the right to freedom of speech and the propagation of hateful content that threatens the harmony of our society”.

‘Emergency’ marks Ranaut’s first release after being elected an MP on a BJP ticket from Mandi, in her native Himachal Pradesh. The BJP-led Central government on July 12 had announced that June 25, the day the Emergency was declared in 1975, would be observed as ‘Samvidhaan Hatya Diwas’ to commemorate the “massive contributions” of those who endured inhuman pains of the period.