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nformation and Broadcasting Minister Arun Jaitley has called Leela Samson, the chairperson of the Censor Board, and some other members of the board who have followed her lead and resigned, as “rebels without a cause”.
He has termed Samson a “non-functional” chairperson and said it was regrettable that United Progressive Alliance appointees like Samson have politicized routine issues.
He has termed Samson a “non-functional” chairperson and said it was regrettable that United Progressive Alliance appointees like Samson have politicized routine issues.
Jaitley has denied any interference from his end or that of his junior minister Rajyavardhan Rathore in the functioning of the Censor Board for Film Certification (CBFC).
In the blog posted today afternoon, Jaitley has faulted Samson for not having communicated “even once” her complaints of corruption. “The non-functional Chairperson never did so. The charge that meetings of the Censor Board are not being held is a Self Condemnation. The meetings are to be convened not by the Minister or the Secretary but by the Chairperson,” Jaitley, also the Finance Minister in the Narendra Modi government, said.
Jaitley said that if the meetings were not being convened, it is for those responsible for non-functioning who must blame themselves. “I have checked up from officials of the Ministry who informed that the funds for the Censor Board have been returned to the Ministry as unspent by the Board,” he said.
Samson, a noted Bharatnatyam dancer, quit on Thursday after the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal (FCAT) cleared the release of the film MSG – The Messenger of God featuring Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh Insaan. She alleged “interference, coercion” as also corruption of panel members and officers appointed to the Censor Board by the Information and Broadcasting Ministry. She also complained that meetings were not taking place.
The Minister said that the Congress had “politicized” even the membership of the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal, which the NDA has restored by appointing a former judge of high credibility as its chairperson. A producer can move the tribunal if dissatisfied with the decision of the Censor Board. “If an Appeal Tribunal disagrees with the Board, it is a part of the due process of law and not an onslaught on Board’s autonomy,” Jaitley said.
He accused the UPA of politicizing the institution when it dismissed the Censor Board headed by actor Anupam Kher in 2004, on the ground that Kher was appointed by the earlier Government. “We did not wish to do that. It is regrettable that the UPA appointees have decided to politicise routine issues,” Jaitley said.
The term of the Censor Board members, including that of Samson, had come to an end in May 2014 but the new government had decided extend their terms “until further notice”. Samson and Sangh Parivar outfits like Vishva Hindu Parishad and Bajrang Dal had faced off after the release of Aamir Khan starrer ‘PK’ last month. Samson had refused demands that scenes “offensive” to the Hindu religion be deleted from the film as the film had already been released. VHP leader Vinod Bansal and others had accused her of taking an intransigent stand as she was of “Christian faith”.
