Tejasvi Surya, a Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MP from Karnataka, on Tuesday lauded the party’s youth wing, Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), for protesting against prohibitory orders imposed by the Rajasthan government in Kota for the screening of the film, 'The Kashmir Files'. He said it was following the BJYM agitation that the Ashok Gehlot-led Congress government had to take back the orders.
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“The Gehlot government got scared. It had imposed Section 144 in Kota for the public to not watch ‘The Kashmir Files'. However, fierce opposition by the BJYM forced the state government to withdraw its order,” Surya's tweet, roughly translated from Hindi, read.
On Monday, the Congress-led Rajasthan government imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in Kota from March 22 till April 21. “Section 144 will be imposed in Kota from tomorrow, March 22, till April 21, in view of maintaining law & order with the screening of ‘The Kashmir Files,” Kota’s district collector and district magistrate said via a notification.
{{/usCountry}}On Monday, the Congress-led Rajasthan government imposed prohibitory orders under Section 144 of the CrPC in Kota from March 22 till April 21. “Section 144 will be imposed in Kota from tomorrow, March 22, till April 21, in view of maintaining law & order with the screening of ‘The Kashmir Files,” Kota’s district collector and district magistrate said via a notification.
{{/usCountry}}According to the notification, there should be no crowd gathering for watching the film. It also said that upcoming festivals in the district should be conducted ceremonially and people should not take baths in rivers including canals.
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In a fresh order issued on Tuesday, the district magistrate said there is no prohibition on watching the film and its screening in cinema halls across Kota. The restrictions on celebrating festivals have also been removed.
The BJP strongly opposed Monday's order and held a 'Chandi March' in Kota North assembly constituency on Tuesday.
"The government is so scared that Section 144 has been imposed. No power in the world can stop the 'Chandi March' tomorrow, whether the police resort to lathi-charge or arrest," former BJP MLA from Kota North Prahlad Gunjal told news agency ANI.
The ongoing Rajasthan Assembly session witnessed an uproar by BJP MLAs over Monday's prohibitory orders in the district.
Directed by Vivek Agnihotri, Kashmir Files is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits since the Valley’s insurgency in the 1990s.
There has been an ongoing slugfest between the opposition parties and the BJP over the movie.