Bhansali as Guilty as Those Threatening ‘Padmavati’ Actors: UP CM

UP CM Yogi Adityanath holds Bhansali and Deepika Padukone equally responsible for the protests against ‘Padmavati’.

The furore over Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s period drama, Padmavati has been going up a notch with every development. The Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister, Yogi Adityanath has now said that if those announcing bounties for Bhansali and Deepika Padukone’s heads are wrong, then the director himself is also wrong.

The UP government earlier had urged the Centre to postpone the release of the movie on December 1 as it feared a law and order situation in the state.

While speaking to ETV in Gorakhpur, he said, “The Censor Board should respect the sentiments of the 22 crore people of UP. We have already written to the Centre to point out the issues with the film. If announcing a bounty on Bhansali’s head is wrong, then Bhansali is also wrong on his part.”

Samajwadi Party spokesperson Sunil Singh Sajan, seized the opportunity to react to Adityanath’s statement, “We support the fact that history should not be distorted in any way, but at the same time it looks like CM Yogi Adityanath is trying to hide his failures by raising the Padmavati issue unnecessarily.”

Sajan believes that the censor board is an able body to take a call on the fate of Padmavati. He went on to say, “He is talking about sentiments of 22 crore people, but is Padmavati the actual issue that these 22 crore people in Uttar Pradesh are bothered about? People only want the BJP to fulfil the promises that the party made. People are more concerned about unemployment, transport, electricity, law and order and illegal mining which are rampant in the state these days.”

Sajan also questioned Adityanath if he would be monitoring other films that will be released in future in the state. He said, “I would request the censor board to induct our Chief Minister as he will also get to see the films.”

A few days ago, UP Deputy Chief Minister, Keshav Prasad Maurya had said that unless the “controversial scenes” are removed, the government would not allow the film’s release in Uttar Pradesh. This demand came even after the makers of the film issued a formal statement announcing the voluntary deferral of the release.

Source: News18

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