‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ May Not Get a Release in Congress-ruled Madhya Pradesh

Bhopal,Dec 28: The Madhya Pradesh Congress has denied reports that it won’t allow Anupam Kher-starrer ‘The Accidental Prime Minister’ to be released in the state as it shows former PM Manmohan Singh and the Gandhi family in poor light.

MP Congress spokesperson Narendra Saluja said there was no ban or any demand for it either, and the party would not even protest against it as it does not want to give it unnecessary publicity. “The film is so lowdown that we don’t even want to discuss it,” he said. The party’s national spokesperson Randeep Surjewala also denied that there was a meeting held to decide if a ban was needed.

The clarifications came after party leader Syed Zafar warned that he would not allow the film to be screened unless it is showed to the party before its release.
The movie, based on the eponymous book by former Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s media advisor Sanjaya Baru, has sparked a row over alleged distortion of facts.

The trailer of the film, which was released on Thursday, shows Singh as the victim of the inside politics in Congress ahead of the 2014 general elections, in which the party was reduced to a record low tally.

The three-minute long trailer takes numerous potshots at Sonia Gandhi, Rahul, Priyanka and others from the Gandhi family. “Mahabharat mein do families thi. India mein toh ek hi hai (The Mahabharat had two families. India has only one),” the trailer begins, setting the tone for the film and a political slugfest.

Many in the Congress have raised objections over the “incorrect presentation of facts” in the trailer, while the BJP has praised it as a “riveting tale of how a family held the country to ransom for 10 long years”.

Surjewala called it a part of fake propaganda by the BJP ahead of the 2019 general elections, but former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has decided to remain mum.

The Maharashtra Youth Congress has also demanded a prior screening of the movie and declared that they wouldn’t let the movie release anywhere in the country if their demand is not met.