1. Virtual Ban on exhibiting Fanna
25 May 2006
Press Statement
The
virtual ban on the showing of the film Fanna in Gujarat is an
indication of the extreme intolerance displayed by the ruling party and
its organisations in Gujarat to any dissenting opinion. The
reported assurance of police protection to any film theatre showing the
film by the Chief Minister, Narendra Modi, is an eye-wash since it is
under his leadership that the front organisations of the sangh combine
are threatening film theatre owners against showing the
film. The ire of the protesters is against the solidarity
expressed by actor Aamir Khan for the demand for
rehabilitation of the thousands of adivasi and peasant families
displaced by the Narmada project.
The state government is
behaving as if it is above the Constitution of India which
grants the freedom of expression to every individual. Such
actions of the sangh combine in Gujarat under the patronage of the
government has serious implications for democratic rights of the people
of Gujarat and indeed for all Indian citizens. We demands that
the Modi government and the party he leads uphold the law of the
country.