Left petitions EC to defer release of Modi’s biopic

Tribune News Service

New Delhi, March 26 

A delegation of the CPI and the CPM has met Election Commission officials and demanded that release of the film based on the life of Prime Minister Narendra Modi be deferred, claiming it was "propaganda material".

CPI's D Raja and CPM Polit Bureau member Nilotpal Basu, who met the poll panel officials on Monday, also pointed out the serious law and order situation in Tripura and West Bengal.

“The delegation had a detailed discussion with the Election Commission on the release of the biopic on PM Modi. The delegation pointed out that there are well-established precedents on withholding the release of such propaganda material during the pendency of elections. The Election Commission, however, was non-committal,” a statement from the two Left parties said on Tuesday. There are reports that the biopic will be released on April 12 in 23 Indian languages.

The Congress, too, had moved the Election Commission to get the release of the biopic, with Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi playing Modi, deferred till the final phase voting on May 19. 

The delegation reiterated the demand for matching the VVPAT records with those of the EVM for randomly 

chosen 50 per cent of the booths. The Election Commission pointed out that as per the Supreme Court direction, the EC will be submitting an affidavit on March 28 on this subject. 

In a related development, CPI chief Sudhakar Reddy has shot off a letter to the CEC objecting to BJP's "surrogate advertising" through various government institutions like Khadi India.

Khadi India has replaced the image of Mahatma Gandhi who has been the icon of Khadi with that of Modi in its outlets. It has been renamed Khadi Jackets popularly known as Jawahar Cut as Modi Jackets and a display board is put up at a khadi retail shop at the Connaught Place.