New Delhi: A day after Censor Board chief Leela Samson resigned from the post on Thursday evening over the clearance to Dera Sacha Sauda Chief, Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh’s film, ‘MSG- Messenger of God’, another member Ira Bhaskar resigned on Friday.
Samson has resigned protesting that the film was cleared despite the board's objections. It was cleared for screening by the Film Certification Appellate Tribunal after the Censor Board found the film "not suitable for public viewing."
A high alert has been sounded in Punjab and Haryana as protests were staged in Haryana and Delhi against the proposed release of the movie on Sunday.
The controversial Dera Saccha Sauda sect chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh, on whom the movie is based, claimed at a press conference in Gurgaon in Haryana where it was premiered that it does not target any religious section.
"I have clearly said that I am just human. The acts portrayed in the movie are simply stunts," he said in an apparent rejection of criticism from Sikh groups that he was portraying himself as God and Sikh Guru.
The clearance by the Appellate Film Certification Tribunal created turbulence in Delhi when Ira Bhaskar, a member of Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), decided to resign in solidarity with Samson, who quit last night.
"I have decided to resign. My resignation has to do with Leelaji's decision to step down. We were working together and as a group we had discussed resigning earler. But we held on as she attempted to help the Ministry in running the Board," Bhaskar said.
"But things were clearly not in order. There was no meeting in the past one year though it was mandatory for board members to meet every three months. The last meeting was in January 2014. The censor board CEO said there were no funds to hold the meetings so the board is clearly not required," she told PTI.
Protests are taking place across cities in north India, including Delhi, Gurgaon and Punjab, against the go-ahead given for the release of the controversial film.
Movie 'MSG' to release, RAF flag march in Amritsar pic.twitter.com/jPNP44wOi0
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 16, 2015Hisar (Haryana) : Protest against the release of the film 'MSG' pic.twitter.com/0RMTEu2YCE
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 16, 2015Shiromani Akali Dal members from Punjab are protesting outside the BJP headquarters in Delhi, demanding a ban on the film.
SAD workers protest against release of the film 'MSG' in Delhi pic.twitter.com/4ZYghkDqMf
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 16, 2015SAD protest against release of the film 'MSG' in Delhi https://t.co/BEUYNB5k1U
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 16, 2015In Gurgaon, 60 people, including workers of the Indian National Lok Dal, were detained by the police to prevent clashes between supporters of Ram Rahim and protesters.
Meanwhile, supporters of Dera chief arrived in buses in a large park in Gurgaon. Reportedly, the organisers said they expect about a lakh people to gather for the hour-long screening of MSG preview.
The Dera Sacha Sauda chief will reportedly be holding a press conference today to officially announce the release of the film on January 23.
Protesters object to the release of the movie because Dera leader, who is being "glorified as a messenger of god" in the movie has several criminal cases against him.
According to reports, Ram Rahim's dialogues in the trailers are provocative and appear to challenge Sikhs.
Whoever is opposing the film, I request them to 1st watch it,there is nothing in the film to oppose : Baba Ram Rahim on the movie 'MSG'
— ANI (@ANI_news) January 16, 2015
