The party asserted that the Modi government should not play dirty politics over Udta Punjab.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday Nihalani’s allegations that the AAP had given money to the makers of the film ‘Udta Punjab’ to show the state in a bad light, saying that his statement indicated that he had stopped the film on “BJP's instructions”.
The AAP added that Nihalani had got the coveted post not on the basis of his credentials but for his allegiance to BJP. “Pahlaj Nihlani’s statement makes it amply clear that he has stopped the film on BJP’s instructions,” Kejriwal tweeted.
“Udta Punjab Censored. What else could one expect in Modi regime? What will you eat, say, read, see or say, will be decided by RSS and Modi ji. Very scary. Punjab's youth has been ruined due to drugs. Punjab's truth should come in front of everyone,” he said.
The Abhishek Chaubey-directed movie is in the thick of a censorship row and while its makers are battling with the board, political parties have alleged that Nihalani acted under the direction of Punjab government.
One of the producers, Anurag Kashyap, has slammed the Censor Board and its chief for allegedly demanding 89 cuts in the film, besides asking them to drop the word 'Punjab' from the title and the movie.
Taking a potshot at Kashyap, Nihalani claimed he has heard that the filmmaker had taken money from Aam Aadmi Party to show Punjab in bad light.
AAP leader Dileep Pandey said in a press conference that “Nihalani used to make third grade films. He considers Prime Minister Narendra Modi as his action hero and is close to BJP. But for that he would not even have been in the Censor Board, forget being its chief.”
“These allegations have been levelled without any basis and the government cannot ask Enforcement Directorate to probe if AAP gave any money to the filmmakers,” he said.
Party leader Ashish Khetan alleged that Nihalani is acting as a “puppet” in the Prime Minister's hands and the film has been stopped due to “political” reasons.
Nihalani, earlier in the day, claimed that he was not under any political pressure from Punjab government over the release of 'Udta Punjab'.
BJP denies govt role in Censor row, refutes AAP’s charge
Rejecting Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal’s charge that the Censor Board has stopped the release of film ‘Udta Punjab’ at its behest, BJP on Wednesday said AAP survives by creating such controversies and claimed that Punjab has no drug problem, an issue the movie deals with.
“I completely reject it (charge) that the government has any role or intervened to stop its release. AAP survives on controversies. It creates controversies for political purpose,” Union Minister Rajiv Pratap Rudy said at a party briefing.
Asked about the Central Board of Film Certification’s decision to withhold the film’s release unless certain scenes are cut, he parried the issue saying there must be norms and guidelines as per which it would censor a movie. Asked whether he believed that Punjab suffered from drug problem, Rudy said, “I don’t think there is any problem.”
He said the Akali Dal-BJP government in the state was doing an “excellent work”. He also accused AAP of having ‘double-standards’ and referred to its stand on screening of ‘Buddha in a Traffic Jam’ whose maker Vivek Agnihotri is perceived to be close to BJP.