Former civil servants urge EC to stall release of Modi biopic until election results

The retired civil servants said the biopic will ‘create enormous electoral mileage for the PM and the party in power’.

The producers of the Narendra Modi film moved the Supreme Court saying that the EC banned the film just by watching the promo | @vivekoberoi/Twitter

New Delhi: A group of former civil servants Tuesday requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to delay the release of a biopic on Prime Minister Narendra Modi until the results of the Lok Sabha elections are declared.

The film, PM Narendra Modi, is due for release on 5 April, less than a week before the elections begin on 11 April. The results will be announced on 23 May.

Forty-seven former civil servants wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner (CEC), saying the biopic “would create enormous electoral mileage for the Prime Minister and the party in power”.

Hence, the CEC, who heads the Election Commission, must stall the film’s release in cinema halls, YouTube, Netflix, Hotstar, Facebook and on other platforms, the letter said. The former civil servants said the ECI has the power to make this decision under article 324 of the Constitution, which gives the ECI the “broadest of terms” for the superintendence, direction, control and conduct of elections.

The film’s release was advanced to 5 April from 12 April, according to the letter.

“We are of the view that there is no urgency for the release of such biopics or documentaries at this juncture, except to garner publicity for political personages and the political parties they represent,” the letter stated.

The retired civil servants wrote that while they appreciate the EC’s decision to closely monitor social media campaigns of parties and candidates for the upcoming elections, “the same principles apply to the process of film certification and release during an ongoing election process”.

The group also brings to light a section of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC), which states that “the party in power whether at the Centre or in the State or States concerned shall ensure that no cause is given for any complaint that it has used its official position for the purposes of its election campaign”.

Therefore, “It cannot be said that the Information and Broadcasting Ministry has no role in this, given that the Central Board of Film Certification falls under its jurisdiction,” the letter stated.

‘Propaganda’

The retired civil servants said the biopic is “propaganda in favour of individuals belonging to particular political parties.” They argued that at a time when the MCC does not even permit appointments to the Boards of public sector undertakings, “open advocacy of the role of the Prime Minister (or of any other candidate) in biopics or documentaries focused on them” amounts to propaganda.

Bollywood actor Vivek Oberoi, who is playing PM Modi in the film, recently made headlines after he was caught on camera in a Cobrapost sting operation offering to post political propaganda in exchange for cash ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.

Biopic on Rahul Gandhi

The letter also said the same principles should be adopted for biopics on any other candidate, and mentions the upcoming film on Congress president Rahul Gandhi My Name is RaGa. Though there is “no mention of the date of release” of this biopic, news reports claim the release date to be in April, during the course of the general elections, the letter read.

The retired civil servants also highlighted in their letter that MCC views expenditures on behalf of a candidate even without his/her formal permission as being part of campaign expenditure, and thus, “a view also needs to be taken whether the expenditures on the production of such biopics or documentaries and their distribution/publicity should be added to the expenses incurred by the candidate directly”.