Congress urges PM and Thackeray to ban ‘Why I killed Gandhi’ movie

“Any glorification of a despicable and inhuman act is against Indian culture,” says Nana Patole, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee

Mumbai: The Indian National Congress (INC) has written to Prime Minister Narendra Modi and chief minister Uddhav Thackeray seeking a ban on the movie -‘Why I Killed Gandhi’- that glorifies Mahatma Gandhi’s assassin Nathuram Godse.

On January 30, Congress leaders and activists will hold a fast as part of their protest at Gandhi’s statue near Mantralaya in Mumbai

Nana Patole, president of the Maharashtra Pradesh Congress Committee (MPCC), also attacked the Narendra Modi-led government for diluting the Mahatma’s legacy.

“Any glorification of a despicable and inhuman act is against Indian culture, and hence, the Congress party is demanding that the film should not be screened in any cinema house in Maharashtra or on any OTT platform, and we request that this must be accepted,” said Patole in his letter to Thackeray on Monday.

“An assassin is being converted into a hero. The country’s identity is the principle of ahimsa (non-violence) as espoused by Mahatma Gandhi and Gautama Buddha. The people of this country will not tolerate an attempt to glorify a killer,” Patole, who was accompanied by activist Firoze Mithiborwala and Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) leader Vidya Chavan, told the media.

NCP Lok Sabha MP and actor Amol Kolhe has played the lead role in Godse’s biopic, which is scheduled to release on January30. This led to criticism from his party colleagues and Maharashtra housing minister Jitendra Awhad, though NCP supremo Sharad Pawar has said that Kolhe’s role should be seen as that of an actor.

On being asked about Kolhe’s role in the movie, Patole said “they were against the ideology and not the actors.”

Patole also attacked the merger and putting out of the icon Amar Jawan Jyoti at the India Gate in Delhi with the newer flame at the National War Memorial.

Patole also decried attempts to dilute the legacy of Mahatma Gandhi and Jawaharlal Nehru, by dropping Gandhi’s favourite hymn ‘Abide With Me’ from the Beating Retreat ceremony. On January 30, Congress leaders and activists will hold a fast as part of their protest at Gandhi’s statue near Mantralaya in Mumbai.