Chhattisgarh to declare ‘The Kashmir Files’ tax-free? CM Baghel to host screening tonight

He also said that PM Modi should remove central GST from the film, doing which, he said, would automatically make the film tax-free across the country.

Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday invited all MLAs in the state for a screening of the film ‘The Kashmir Files,’ in a development that may result in it becoming the first Congress-ruled state to declare the film ‘tax-free.’

The Kashmir Files starring Anupam Kher and Mithun Chakraborty, a film on the genocide of Kashmiri Hindus, has done well at the box office in its first few days since launch. (Source: imdb)

“Have invited all members of the assembly, from across party lines, for a screening of the film ‘The Kashmir Files.’ At 8pm tonight, all those who have been invited will watch the film together at a cinema hall in the capital,” Baghel said in a Twitter post.

According to information shared by the Chhattisgarh Chief Minister's Office (CMO), this particular screening of the film will be held at Magneto Mall in Raipur.

Baghel, meanwhile, also responded to leaders of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) who have demanded that the film be declared tax-free in Chhattisgarh. “I request the honourable Prime Minister to remove the central GST . This will make it tax-free across the country,” the Congress leader posted.

Helmed by filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri, ‘The Kashmir Files’ is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from Jammu and Kashmir in the 1990s. The movie, which released on March 11, has been backed wholeheartedly by the Centre's ruling BJP and supporters of the party. Several BJP governments have declared it tax-free in their respective states. Also, a day ago, Prime Minister Modi himself endorsed the film, hitting out at those he described as ‘the ones who carry around the flag of freedom of expression.’

However, on the other hand, opposition parties, including the Congress, have called the project a ‘propaganda’ tool of the ruling dispensation. In fact, the Kerala unit of the grand old party got itself in hot water over its tweet on this controversy.