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Movie on Modi a hagiography which gives him cult status, will tilt electoral balance: EC to SC

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Press Trust of India New Delhi
Last Updated : Apr 24 2019 | 7:41 PM IST

The biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi is a "hagiography", which treats the subject with undue reverence, and its public screening during poll campaign will "tilt the electoral balance", the Election Commission (EC) has told the Supreme Court while opposing the release of the movie starring Vivek Oberoi before the polls end on May 19.

In its 20-page report submitted to the apex court bench headed by Chief Justice Ranjan Gogoi on the film titled 'PM Narendra Modi', the poll panel said that the biopic "produces a political environment where an individual acquired cult status" and its public screening during the period when model code of conduct is in operation would favour a particular political party.

The EC said "there are several scenes depicting a major opposition party as corrupt and showing them in poor light. Their leaders have been depicted in such a manner that their identification is clear and obvious to the viewers."
The EC said in its report that the movie eulogises the character of Modi and its "synopsis provided with the script ends on an interesting sentence - 'India is Modi and Modi is India'. This is reminiscent of the infamous statement by Congress leader D K Baruah, who had said 'Indira is India and India is Indira' in the 1970s."
The report further said, "Eulogising of the character Narendra Modi is very clear right through the movie. More than biography, it is hagiography."

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First Published: Apr 24 2019 | 7:41 PM IST

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