PM Modi slams conspiracy to discredit Kashmir Files

New Delhi: The first parliamentary party meeting of the BJP after the party retained power in four states and also after the resumption of the second phase of the Budget session of Parliament, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday, it was learnt, said it was his decision to deny tickets to children of MPs in the just-concluded Assembly polls as “dynastic politics is a threat to democracy”. Mr Modi also took on those who “carry around the flag of freedom of expression” but have been trying to discredit the film, The Kashmir Files. He said that the "entire jamaat (group) has been “rattled for the last few days” and is busy discrediting the film instead of assessing it on the basis of facts and truth. Many Opposition parties, including the Congress, have objected to the film.

Endorsing the film which is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Kashmir Valley in the 1990s, the PM asserted that history should be presented in the right context before the society. In a rare occurrence, the party also released the video clipping of the PM referring to the film during the meeting, which is usually briefed to the media by the parliamentary affairs minister.

"You must have heard the discussion about The Kashmir Files, those who carry around the flag of freedom of expression, that whole group has been rattled for the last few days. Instead of assessing the film on the basis of facts and truth, a campaign is on to discredit it," Mr Modi said about the film, which has been made tax free in many BJP-ruled states and is also being promoted by many BJP leaders and supporters through social media.

He stressed that history should be presented in the right context before society and just like books, poetry and literature play a role in this, the films can do the same.

Hitting out at the “flagbearers of freedom of expression” who are trying to discredit the film and not assessing it on the basis of facts or truth, the PM said "They are shocked that the truth that they tried to suppress is now coming out with the backing of facts and efforts."   

The film released last week stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi and is written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri.

The PM also said that there can be many aspects of truth and different views. “Those who think it is not correct can make their own film, but they are shocked that the truth that they tried to suppress is now coming out with the backing of facts and efforts," he said.

Asserting that the BJP has to check the dynasty politics, which is a threat to democracy, the PM, sources said, said a conscious decision was taken to deny tickets to children of BJP MPs for Assembly polls. The meeting felicitated both Mr Modi and BJP president J.P. Nadda for the party's election victory in four of the five states. The PM, sources said, also asked MPs in the states where Assembly elections were held to assess on those seats till the booth level, which the party lost, the reasons for the loss.

The PM also spoke about India's evacuation efforts from war-torn Ukraine, saying that when the government was working on their safe return, some political leaders were trying to politicise the issue and making statements without proper and accurate statistics and details. External affairs minister S. Jaishankar also gave a presentation on the evacuation exercise under Operation Ganga to help rescue stranded Indians leave Ukraine, sources said.