Madhya Pradesh govt issues notice to IAS officer over ‘The Kashmir Files’ tweets

IAS Niyaz Khan, who is a deputy secretary with the MP Public Works Department (PWD), posted a series of tweets last week about the film.

The Madya Pradesh government on Wednesday will be issuing a notice to IAS officer Niyaz Khan over controversial tweets on the film The Kashmir Files. According to state home minister Narottam Mishra, his tweets are crossing and violating the limits that are set for government officials."

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“I have seen Khan's tweets. This is a serious issue...he is crossing and violating the lakshman rekha (limit) set for (government) officials...the state government will issue a show-cause notice to him and seek his reply,” said the state home minister of Wednesday while speaking to the media.

IAS Niyaz Khan, who is a deputy secretary with the MP Public Works Department (PWD), posted a series of tweets last week about the film. He urged the makers of the film to make a movie on the “killings of large number of Muslims across states.”

“The Kashmir Files shows the pain of Brahmins. They should be allowed to live safely in Kashmir with all honour. The producer must also make a movie to show the killings of Large number of Muslims across several states. Muslims are not insects but human beings and citizens of country(sic),” he wrote.

He further said that he is planning to write a book highlighting the “massacre of Muslims.” He wrote, “Thinking to write a book to show the massacre of Muslims on different occasions so that a movie like The Kashmir Files could be produced by some producer, so that, the pain and suffering of minorities could be brought before Indians.”

He also appealed the film's producer to “transfer all of the movie's earnings to the Brahmin children's education and for the construction of homes for them in Kashmir.” To this, Vivek Agnihotri - The Kashmir Files' director, sought an appointment with Khan for ‘exchanging ideas’.

The film, which has become highly controversial, is based on mass killings and the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the 1990s.The film has crossed ₹150 crore mark at the box office. It has been written and directed by Vivek Agnihotri, starring Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Pallavi Joshi, Darshan Kumaar.

Several BJP-led states have made the film tax free including Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat.