EC bans release of PM Modi biopic, order to affect NaMo TV too
The Election Commission of India (ECI) has stopped the release of biopic ‘PM Narendra Modi’ for the duration of 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
In its statement, the election body said that any material disturbing the level playing field in favour of any political party or individual should not be displayed. The ECI said that it has also received complaints about ‘NTR Laxmi’ and ‘Udyama Simham’.
It has been alleged that these films either diminish or advance the electoral prospect of a candidate or a political party in the garb of creative freedom.
““The Election Commission of India today issued an order prohibiting display in electronic media including cinematograph of any biopic material in the nature of biography/hagiography sub-serving the purposes of any political entity or any individual entity connected to it, which has potential to disturb level playing field during the election, should not be displayed in electronic media including cinematograph during the operation of MCC,” the ECI said in its statement.
“Any poster or publicity material concerning any such certified content, which either depicts a candidate (including prospective) for the furtherance (or purported to further) of electoral prospects, directly or indirectly, shall not be put on display in electronic media in the area where MCC is in force,” the ECI order said.
The ban on the PM Modi biopic is likely to extend to NaMo TV. Apart from the ban on the film, the order from the EC also calls for keeping content which furthers a candidate’s electoral prospects away from the electronic media. This might lead to the channel being taken off air.
The biopic on PM Modi was scheduled to be released on April 11 after delays. The release of the film was postponed last week on grounds of pending certification clearance from the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), which it secured yesterday.
Opposition parties have been calling for a ban on the movie in view of Model Code of Conduct (MCC).
