The Election Commision of India on Wednesday banned the release of the Vivek Oberoi-starrer biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi saying that it should only be released after the elections.
Opposition parties had approached the national poll panel accusing the BJP of using the film as a propaganda tool to further its electoral chances in this years Lok Sabha polls. The Election Commission said that any such film that serves the agenda of political parties should not be released when the Model Code of Conduct is in place.
Earlier this week the Supreme Court had ruled that the EC was the competent authority to take a call on whether the film, “P M Narendra Modi”, violated the MCC. The petition in the SC was filed by Adv. and Congress leader Aman Panwar.
The Election Commission’s order said, “…Any poster or publicity material concerning any such certified content, which either depicts a candidate (including prospective) for the furtherance (or purported to further) of electoral prospect, directly or indirectly, shall not be put to display in electronic media in the area where MCC (Model Code of Conduct) is in operation.”
In the film, Oberoi plays the character of Modi, while his father Suresh Oberoi is one of the three producers. Both Vivek Oberoi and his father are known BJP supporters and have campaigned for the saffron party in the past. Speaking on a channel recently, Vivek Oberoi had praised Modi and mocked Congress president Rahul Gandhi.