Don't support ban on Padmavati; opposed to all threats: Pb CM

Chandigarh: Punjab Chief Minister Amarinder Singh said today that he neither supported a ban on the movie ‘Padmavati’ nor backed those issuing threats to its actors and crew. Singh decried attempts by what he claimed were “vested interests” to misinterpret his statement on the issue.

The chief minister made it clear that he was totally opposed to the threats being issued by certain hardline elements to the actors and directors of the film but reiterated that anyone feeling hurt by the alleged distortion of historical facts had the right to peaceful agitation. A distinction needs to be drawn between threats and protests, he said in a statement here.

“How can I seek or support a ban on the movie when I have not even watched it,” asked Singh, refuting the “unfounded conclusions” that were drawn from his statement on Monday. Clarifying his position, Singh said that nobody can be denied the right to disagree with others and protest peacefully in a civilised and democratic system, but nobody has the right to threaten someone with whom he/she does not agree on any issue.

“I totally condemn all people who are issuing threats and expect the law to take its course against them,” he said, adding that any attempt to vitiate the country’s peace and disturb its harmony needs to be dealt with effectively.

In his statement on Monday, Singh had said that as a military historian, who had studied history and even been to Chittor, he felt that distortion of historical facts was unacceptable. “Cinematic license did not give anyone the right to twist historical facts,” he had said, adding that protests were a justified recourse in a democratic system.