CHENNAI: Chief Minister M K Stalin on Friday condemned the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC), describing it as another instrument of coercion by the BJP-led Union government. However, he did not specify the immediate trigger for his criticism.
In a post on social media platform X, Stalin said, “After the CBI, ED and the Income Tax department, the censor board has also become a new weapon of the BJP-led Union government. Strong condemnation.”
His remarks came hours after reports surfaced that several scenes and dialogues had been removed by the CBFC from Sivakarthikeyan-starrer ‘Parasakthi’, and amid continued uncertainty over the certification of Vijay’s ‘Jana Nayagan’, which has reportedly been held up citing objections to certain scenes.
While the CM’s terse remarks did not make it clear whether they were directed at the cuts in ‘Parasakthi’ or the delay in clearing ‘Jana Nayagan’, the issue has triggered sharp political reactions across parties. On Thursday, a section of activists urged political leaders to condemn what they termed as the CBFC’s curbs on ‘Jana Nayagan’, arguing that the move amounted to an infringement of freedom of expression and should be opposed irrespective of political affiliations.
Following criticism by some Congress leaders over the CBFC’s action against ‘Jana Nayagan’, CPM state secretary P Shanmugam and VCK deputy general secretary Aloor Sha Navas took veiled dig at those speaking out on the issue, without naming them. In a post on X, Shanmugam remarked despite the censor board delaying certification, the “so-called Jana Nayagan” (actor Vijay) had maintained a “deafening silence”.