WB: TMC MP slams Mamata govt over ban on film against anti-Singur protests

Kolkata: In increasing trouble for West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee, Trinamool Congress MP Kabir Suman has criticised the move by the censor board in Kolkata to deny approval to 'Kangal Malsat', a film that contains references to Singur issue and Banerjee's swearing in.

Speaking against the move, Suman hit out at the state government, saying, "There is no reference to Singur...the ban is without a cause. This government was supposed to bring about change and be more free, but the ban of this movie is sheer madness and there is no freedom."

The filmmaker, Suman Mukhopadhyay, also slammed the decision to ban his film and approached the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal on the issue. He asserted that as a filmmaker and as a citizen of India, he had the right to talk about his opinion on a political event.

Meanwhile, the filmmaker has approached the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal to get a go-ahead for his film.

"As a filmmaker, my primary responsibility is to reflect the contemporary things...and I have all the rights as a filmmaker, even as a citizen of this democratic country to talk about my opinion about some political event, some issues. So, I don't know why this moral policing?" said Mukhopadhyay, who allegedly portrayed the anti-Singur movement and Mamta Banjerjee in negative light.

The censor board in Kolkata denied approval to the film, 'Kangal Malsat', as according to a letter by the board, the exit of Tatas from Singur is depicted in a way that portrays the anti-Singur movement in a negative light.

The board also raised objections to the portrayal of Mamata Banerjee's oath taking ceremony. Censor board officials. however, claim that they have serious objections to the language used in the film which the director allegedly had refused to remove.

The opposition has also used to opportunity to hit out at the Mamata Banerjee government, saying the democratic space in the field of culture was getting squeezed in West Bengal.

"If you squeeze the democratic space in the field of politics, obviously it will impact cultural field also, whether in the form of cartoon, email, SMS, a speech, a political protest or even in the form of a innocuous question at press conference...if it is going to hurt the chief minister, it is not being allowed, it is the order of the day," said Left leader Mohammad Salim.

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