‘Half-truth’: Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel critiques ‘The Kashmir Files’

RAIPUR: Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel said ‘The Kashmir Files’, a movie based on the plight of displaced Kashmiri Hindus, shows half-truths and doesn’t have any real message except showing violence. Baghel also underlined that not only Hindus, but Buddhists, Muslims, Sikhs were also murdered in Kashmir.

“…the film shows half-truth. It does not suggest any solution and no attempt is made in this direction… It only shows violence which does not make any sense,” Baghel said late on Wednesday after watching filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri’s movie at a special screening in a multiplex in Chhattisgarh capital Raipur.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi this week effusively praised the movie, adding that there was a “campaign to discredit” it by those who claim to be the flagbearers of freedom of expression. “They are shocked that the truth that they tried to suppress is now coming out with the backing of facts and efforts,” PM Modi said in a ringing endorsement of the film that is now at the centre of a political slugfest with the Congress and some other opposition parties objecting to it.

The Chhattisgarh chief minister stressed that the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits depicted in the movie took place when VP Singh was the prime minister with the support from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leaders such as Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Lal Krishna Advani.

“An attempt was made to give a political message. It is shown in the film that the VP Singh government, which was then in power (at the Centre) with the BJP’s support, did not try to stop the Kashmiri Pandits (exodus), rather asked them to leave,” the senior Congress leader said.

“The Army was not sent there (by the Centre). When former prime minister Rajiv Gandhi raised the issue in the Lok Sabha, the Army was sent there,” Baghel added, according to news agency PTI.

Turning to the ruling BJP government at the Centre, Baghel said not much had really changed for Kashmiri Pandits even after the revocation of Article 370 that granted special status to Jammu and Kashmir. “This (central) government has done only politics after the abrogation of Article 370 and no measures have been taken to provide assistance to Kashmiri Pandits, he said.

The chief minister also regretted that opposition leaders including those from the BJP in Chhattisgarh didn’t join him to watch the film. they run away when anyone confronts them, Baghel said according to PTI, a reference to the open invitation he extended in the assembly to all legislators to watch the movie with him.

Leader of Opposition and senior BJP leader, Dharamlal Kaushik, raised the demand to exempt ‘The Kashmir Files’ from state taxes in Chhattisgarh. Several BJP-ruled states such as Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Haryana and Madhya Pradesh, have made the film tax-free. On Wednesday, the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government also made the announcement.

Baghel didn’t directly reject the demand but said rather than the states, it is the Centre that should give up its share of taxes.

“BJP MLAs have demanded to exempt ‘The Kashmir Files’ movie from (entertainment) tax in the state. I request the Hon’ble Prime Minister to announce to waive off central GST on this film. (Then) the movie will be tax-free across the country,” Baghel said in a tweet in Hindi.

In the assembly, he explained that after the introduction of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), half of the tax share goes to the Centre. “The Centre should declare the film tax-free in the country,” the chief minister said.