Chandigarh, January 10: A congress leader on Tuesday approached the Punjab and Haryana High Court against the release of The Accidental Prime Minister, which stars Anupam Kher as former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. The case in the nature of a Public Interest Litigation will come up for hearing on Wednesday.
The petition was filed by the Punjab Sports Minister Rana Gurmeet Singh Sodhi’s son, Anumit Singh Sodhi. Anumit is a member of the Pradesh Congress Committee in Punjab.
In the petition filed through advocate Kannan Malik, he has sought quashing of the certificate issued for the movie by the Central Board of Film Certification and a stay on its release during the pendency of the case.
According to the petition, the movie is “challenging and questioning” the integrity and authority of the Prime Minister’s Office and also “completely destroys” the public image of Manmohan Singh, “who has been the Prime Minister twice and the Finance Minister and during whose reign the country has grown”.
The plea also states that the Prime Minister’s Office is not only representing the public inside the country but also internationally and “to show it as a weak office is a big issue”. Anumit has also questioned the timing of the movie release saying that it is aimed at achieving political benefit in the election year.
When contacted by The Indian Express, both Anumit and his lawyer refused to speak saying the matter is now pending before the High Court. Anumit also did not answer when asked whether the decision to file the petition was his own or Congress party’s.
The petition will come up for hearing before the division bench of Chief Justice Krishna Murari and Arun Palli on Wednesday. The movie is set to release on January 11.
