Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan said on Friday that a museum will come up in Bhopal to commemorate genocide against the Kashmiri Pandit community after Vivek Agnihotri, the Director of the controversial film “The Kashmir Files” suggested for the same.
Agnihotri, who was in the city, thanked chief minister for making the film tax free in the state and extended his proposal for the museum after planting saplings, along with the CM and some Kashmiri Pandits, at the Smart City Park in Bhopal.
Responding to his poposal, Shivraj Singh Chouhan said the Madhya Pradesh government will provide land and other facilities to set up the museum in Bhopal. “I had once visited Kashmir to attend a programme organised by Kashmiri Pandits in 2008. I have felt their pain. I assure you that the MP government will provide full support to set up a genocide museum in Bhopal,” Chouhan said.
Kashmiri Pandits, present on the occasion, also demanded that a ‘cultural centre’ of the community should also be set up in the city to which Agnihotri said that the centre can form a part of the museum.
Meanwhile, Congress Rajya Sabha member Digvijaya Singh has opposed the idea of setting up of a “genocide” museum saying that the step would disrupt the social harmony of Bhopal which has a large Muslim population..
“I am totally against setting up a genocide museum in Bhopal. Will not let the communal harmony of Bhopal get disturbed, I oppose it,” Singh said in a tweet on Saturday.
Vivek Agnihotri arrived in Bhopal on Friday to participate in the inaugural ceremony of the three-day Chitra Bharati Film Festival.
Agnihotri’s video disturb Bhopalis
Meanwhile, just before his visit to Bhopal, a video of the Director of The Kashmir Files, Vivek Agnihotri has gone viral on social media in which he is heard saying that Bhopalis (people from Bhopal) are homosexuals.
Agnihotri could be heard saying in the video that he was not a Bhopali. “I have grown up in Bhopal but I am not a Bhopali because being a Bhopali has a different connotation,” said Agnihotri.
Meanwhile, a complaint has been filed against ‘The Kashmir Files’ director Vivek Agnihotri at a police station in Mumbai over his “Bhopali means homosexual” comment seeking registration of an FIR for defamation and other charges.
The complainant reportedly alleged that the director of ‘The Kashmir Files’ insulted and disrespected his (Pandey’s) native place Bhopal by “willingly, wantonly and maliciously calling Bhopalis as homosexuals” in an interview with media, the official said quoting the complaint.
Reacting to the video, Digvijay Singh tweeted that Vivek Agnihotri Ji this must be your personal experience but not of any common Bhopali. “I am also in contact of Bhopal and Bhopalis since 77 but never experienced it. ‘Company matters’,” wrote Digvijay Singh.
Another twitter user Syed Anas Ali said it was insult to Barkatullah Bhopali and former president of India Shankar Dayal Sharma who have tremendous contribution in freedom movement.
“I am sure people sitting in government will condemn it as several leaders from the BJP like Babulal Gaur and Pandit Uadhavdas Mehta ji were pure Bhopalis. Former Mayor Alok Sharma also calls himself a proud Bhopali,” wrote Anas Ali.
However, Agnihotri said that his statement equating Bhopalis with homosexuals was ‘quoted out of context’. He urged the people to visit his social media pages to know what he thinks of Bhopal. His social media pages are full of praises for the city, he said and added that Bhopal is the ‘most beautiful city in the world’ where ‘the yummiest poha’ is available.
About IAS officer Niyaz Khan’s invitation to him for a discussion on the film, Agnihotri said that he had not sought any appointment with the officer yet.
When asked whether he would donate the income from the film for the welfare of the Kashmiri Pandits, he said that ‘this is all politics. Let us ignore it.’
About his next venture, Agnihotri said that his next movie will be ‘The Delhi Files’ or ‘Bharat Files’.
