BHOPAL: A day after the Supreme Court dismissed a petition seeking stay on release of film Padmavati and criticised statements made by “persons in responsible post” on the yet to be released flick, Madhya Pradesh chief minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said “public sentiments and faith must be respected.”
Responding to a query by journalists on the film’s release on Wednesday, Chouhan, while evading a direct comment on the apex court’s Tuesday observations, said “respecting sentiments and faith of people pertaining to the historical character is important.”
“Itihaas se sambandhit koi patra jisko poora desh samman aur aadar ki drishti se dekhta ho, uspar agar koi film banti hai, toh jan bhavnao ka dhyan rakha jaayega. Aastha aur shraddha ka dhyan rakha jaana avashyak hai (If a film is made on a historical character who is revered by the country, then considering and respecting people’s sentiments and faith is important),” said Chouhan, making it amply clear that he still sticks to his stand of not allowing release of the movie in the state.
Chouhan was interacting with journalists on completion of 12 years as MP CM.
On November 20, the CM had announced in Bhopal that the film will not be allowed to be screened in Madhya Pradesh, “It is being told that historical facts have been distorted and the exalted persona of Queen Padmavati maligned. The film will not be allowed to screen in Madhya Pradesh,” Chouhan had said on November 20.
While addressing a gathering of the Rajput community in Bhopal, the CM had also announced establishing a Rashtramata Padmavati memorial and instituting Padmavati Award in the field of bravery and women empowerment.
A few days later, Chouhan had announced in Ujjain that a chapter on the great queen of Chittorgarh, Padmavati will be introduced in the school syllabus in the state from the next academic session.
Earlier, on Tuesday, the Supreme Court had dismissed a petition seeking stay on the international release of the film, while criticizing statements made by “persons in responsible posts” on the film.
A bench headed by the Chief Justice of India, Dipak Mishra said the statements amounted to “pre-judging” the film, which is yet to be cleared by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC). Discussions between citizens were one thing, but how could people in public office make such statements, the apex court had observed on Tuesday.