Image courtesy: Indiaforums

After a complaint from the Congress Party, the Delhi CEO wrote a letter to the Election Commission drawing the attention of the EC that the series are being shown without permission from Media Certification and Monitoring Committee (MCMC).

It is expected that EC may take cognisance of this matter soon as they have not received complaints from Delhi CEO alone but also from the District Election officer(DEO) who mentioned in their complaint to the Delhi CEO that a FIR should be lodged against EROS the channel that is telecasting the web series.

The EC banned the biopic till the polls which conclude on May 19^th , the results of which will be declared on 23^rd May 2019.

The web series have been directed by Umesh Shukla who rose to fame with ‘OMG Oh My God’  – a Hindi feature film.

Courtesy: Two Circle
 

The post Biopic on Modi banned but web series still available without permission appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
Image Courtesy: India Today

New Delhi: The Election Commission of India stalled the release of ‘PM Narendra Modi on Thursday, a biopic on the Prime Minister till the completion of Lok Sabha elections.
 
The film was scheduled to release on April 11, the day of the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls.
 
The film, titled “PM Narendra Modi” and directed by Omung Kumar and with Vivek Oberoi playing the titular role, has been criticised by the opposition parties, who claim that the biopic could give undue advantage to the BJP in the polls as it will arrive in theatres before the 2019 Lok Sabha elections.
 
The Election Commission banned the release of Modi biopic saying “no biopic serving any political purpose can be displayed.”
 
The biopic received a ‘Universal’ certificate by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) merely hours before the EC ban.
 
The poll panel’s move comes a day after the Supreme Court refused to stay the release, saying that the EC is the appropriate forum to decide whether the production tilts electoral balance in the favour of any party.
 
The EC has written to the I&B Ministry as well as Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) that a committee headed by a retired judge of Supreme Court or Chief Justice of High Court will henceforth vet all political electronic content (films included) for Model Code violation, The Indian Express reported.
 
Earlier in the day, the CBFC issued a ‘U’ certificate from the censor board. Elated on the film’s clearance, producer Sandip Singh, said in a statement, “We are very happy that we got the ‘U’ certificate from the Censor Board, and finally the film will be releasing on April 11. We are also very relieved that the Supreme Court has rejected the plea. It is clear now from everywhere. I hope no political party across India has any problem, because the Election Commission, the CBFC, and all the courts have cleared all the pleas, and our film is ready for release. We are grateful to each and everyone who has prayed for us.”
 
The Bombay High Court had also disposed of a plea seeking deferment of the biopic’s release, saying the Election Commission will deal with the issue.
 
Titled “PM Narendra Modi”, the biopic which was slated to be released on April 5, was later deferred to April 11.

The post BREAKING: EC stops Modi biopic release until completion of LS polls appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
New Delhi: The Election Commission of India will not impose a ban on the release of the film ‘PM Narendra Modi’ for violating the model code of conduct, sources in the commission said.
 
News18 reported sources as saying that the Election Commission said the Central Board of Film Certification(CBFC) must now decide on whether to allow the release of PM Narendra Modi.
 
‘PM Narendra Modi’ directed by Omung Kumar is scheduled to be released on April 5, a week before India votes for the first phase of Lok Sabha elections.
 
However, the official decision on whether the film will be deferred or referred to the CBFC for the final call has not been announced by the EC yet.
 
The Election Commission had sent a notice to the makers of the film following a meeting with a Congress delegation, which sought a ban on its release ahead of the Lok Sabha polls.
 
Opposition parties had alleged “political intent” in the release of the Vivek Oberoi-starrer and had complained to the poll watchdog, claiming that PM Narendra Modi would serve as an advertisement for the BJP.
 
The Bombay High Court Monday rapped the petitioner and disposed of the plea filed against the release of PM Narendra Modi biopic at the helm of elections. The court said the Election Commission of India will deal with the issue.
 
The Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) counsel Advait Sethna told the court that the film’s trailer was certified on March 20 and the certification for the film will also be issued soon.
 
The Delhi High Court also dismissed a PIL seeking a stay on the release of the film during the period of model code of conduct ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
 
The biopic features Vivek Oberoi as PM Modi and is set to release on April 5, six days before the first phase of the Lok Sabha polls on April 11.
 
Earlier the film was scheduled to be out on 12 April, a day after the completion of the first phase of the General Elections.
 

The post EC won’t come in the way of Modi biopic, wants CBFC to take a call appeared first on SabrangIndia.

Image Courtesy: Business Standard

The biographical drama based on the life of BJP’s Prime Minister Candidate Narendra Modi has been in controversy ever since it was announced. Opposition leaders urged the poll body to intervene and delay the film’s release, which has been preponed to release in theatres on April 5, mere days before the first phase of polling.

What is the MCC?

The Election Commission of India’s Model Code of Conduct is a set of guidelines issued by the Election Commission of India for the conduct of political parties and candidates during elections mainly with respect to speeches, polling day, polling booths, portfolios, election manifestos, processions and general conduct. The Model Code of Conduct comes into force immediately after the announcement of the election schedule by the commission. For the 2019 Indian general election, the code came into force on 10 March 2019 and will remain so till the end of the electoral process. This is done to ensure that the ruling parties at the Centre and the State do not misuse their position of power to gain an unfair advantage.

What are the violations that the Modi biopic is accused of?

There are a number of violations that the Modi biopic film can be held for, the foremost being the silence period rule whereby no kind of canvassing is allowed between 48 hours of the election.

Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, lawyer Apar Gupta explains, “The most direct and evident harm is that a biopic on the prime ministerial candidate of the incumbent government has received indirect support in terms of a tacit approval sought by filmmakers amounting to a possible disguised attempt to canvass for votes. Hence, the candidate and political party will be circumventing all the prohibitions of the Model Code of Conduct and even the 48hour total silence zone. This may result in an unethical advantage towards them.”

Considering how the film has been accused of being an advertisement of the BJP’s PM candidate by the opposition, if the film, set to release on April 5, is likely to run in theatres till April 12 when the first phase of polling starts, it counts as a violation. In such a scenario then, do we factor in the probability that the proximity of a cinema hall and a polling booth, could be within 100 meters in some cases, which calls for another violation?

Model Code or “Moral” Code?

Since its establishment in 1968, the Model Code exists as a set of ethical guidelines bound by consensus amongst all political parties and candidates to ensure a level playing field. This means that it is not, however, legally binding. What are the implications/consequences for parties/candidates violating the codes?

Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, Former Civil Servant Kamal Jaswal said, “[While] the MCC does not by itself contain any penal provisions, if the violation is tantamount to a corrupt practice, then there are legal consequences.” Corrupt practices can be prosecuted under the representation of the People’s Act 1951. He also cited the example of Bal Thackeray’s disqualification. Thackeray’s speeches were found likely to incite communal hatred, which was held to be a corrupt practice and led to his disqualification.

By that logic, anyone who has seen the film’s trailer can testify to the film’s “appealing to caste/ communal feelings, criticising other political parties, aggravating tensions between communities – religious, linguistic etc.” Though Jaswal confessed that not having seen the film, he could not comment on the subliminal messages in the film with authority, he added that any move to incite violence was a criminal act, as per the law of the land. “Polls or not, such a behaviour was punishable under the representation of the Peoples Act (1951)”, he said.  

Saffronisation of history

The trailer of Modi’s biopic has already glossed over the painful events of violence. Scenes where Modi is mourning over a burning Gujarat or even rescuing children during the 2002 massacres, is clearly inventive and adds to myth-making.

In his article for the Caravan journalist, Salil Tripathi argued that “the strategy to remake Modi begins with the claim that the Modi of 2014 is not the Modi of 2002; that he appears to have moderated his views”. Curiously, the biopic seems to be doing exactly that. Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum, Tamil poet Salma said, “Usually these kinds of movies are made after the death of great leaders. But that is not so. This is purely for propaganda. People will understand this. Election commission should ban such kind of propaganda movies.”

But is it just the timing of the film that qualifies it as propaganda, or is there more to it?

Lawyer Apar Gupta affirmed that “the content, poster and timing, all external factors are to be judged if the determination is with respect to a plea that it is a proxy or an indirect attempt to canvass for a political party. There is a principle of law, what cannot be done directly, also cannot be done indirectly.”

Saffronisation of history aside, the key issue here is the timing of the film’s release. Release date only a few weeks ahead of the elections bears wide-ranging implications – to sway votes, promote Modi’s candidature and solidify a Hindu-nationalistic ideology.
It is understood that interventions in the media, no matter how late, have the power to influence election outcomes. But to what degree? In a tweet, writer Salil Tripathi said that banning the film would make a martyr out of it.

Speaking to the Indian Cultural Forum regarding his comment, Tripathi brought up a very crucial point about the extent to which such an opportunity can be exploited for political gains.

“If the courts or the CBFC were to delay the film’s release, in theory nothing prevents someone from streaming it from a server outside India, and make it accessible to viewers in India. And if that were to happen, people would see the film-makers as free speech martyrs, casting an unnecessary halo around the film.”

This is a crucial point when the policymakers of the EC framed their guidelines, they took into consideration the proliferation of texts, images, slogans, campaigns and posters, but propaganda through a full-length feature film was perhaps unanticipated.

Image Courtesy: Money Control
 
However, these provisions are applicable only if a link can be established between the ruling party and the film. So far the producers have denied any such link. They have clarified that the film is a private commercial enterprise. On inviting Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis and BJP president Amit Shah to promote the film, the producers said they invited them because Shah has a character based on him in the film and they wanted the film to be a “resounding commercial success”. But The Wire has reported of an (in)direct link between the BJP and the producers of the show.

Hitesh Jain, the lawyer for producers Anand K Pandit, Sandeep Singh, Manish Acharya and Suresh Oberoi, is a partner at Parinam Law Associates and a shareholder and director of BlueKraft Digital Foundation.

As per the report, BlueKraft has been closely working with BJP and its leaders for some time now. In 2017, it released the first book on “Mann ki Baat” at Rashtrapati Bhavan. In 2018, it partnered Modi as “technology and knowledge partner” for a book titled Exam Warriors, authored by Modi himself. This year on March 2, BlueKraft released the second book on Modi’s “Mann Ki Baat” titled A Social Revolution on Radio, 50 Episodes Special Edition.

What is art? What is propaganda?

“Art is based on truth. Propaganda through art is falsehood. We all know Modi’s hand in the Gujarat riots. And this movie says he is innocent. Do they think people will believe it? This is purely for propaganda.” Salma said.

The Indian Cultural Forum asked legal experts if there was a legal equivalent to the term “propaganda” without faltering into aesthetic judgments.

“Propaganda is a definition of social science which has broader girth and may not automatically denote a clear legal injury. This becomes important because while propaganda may usually have a negative connotation, it will have a high degree of subjectivity and hence fall foul of the constitutional tests which require specificity when a class of speech is restricted. For instance, defamation or hate speech,” explained lawyer Apar Gupta.

This also seems to be the vantage point the filmmakers are operating from. Speaking to IANS, producer Sandip Singh said “We are living in a democratic country where everybody has the freedom of speech. It’s very simple.”

How do we deal with this twisted nature of freedom of speech? Lawyer Gautam Bhatia told the Indian Cultural Forum that “there’s no legal distinction as such, and all forms of speech are protected under Article 19(1)(a); however, in one judgment called Motion Picture Association, the Supreme Court has hinted that pure propaganda might receive a lower level of constitutional protection (without defining it).”

Elaborating on the distinction further, Apar Gupta said, “there is speech and then there is media. While the paternal power of the State and legal regulation especially on cinema should be liberalised, it should not be allowed to become a vehicle for political propaganda. This, in fact, reinforces censorship. Such a situation is especially visible in Indian cinema where pre-certification is necessary through a board comprised entirely of political appointees. Hence, the entire process ensures that only the most flattering and uncritical portrayals of powerful persons, groups and institutions are permitted.”

But it seems that something has been missed here. Yesterday, the Bombay HC refused to interfere with Modi biopic release since the EC has already issued a notice to the director of the film.

Image Courtesy: Times of India

“This will come on the Internet. I don’t think that code of conduct is applied there”

As if the controversy over the biopic wasn’t enough, there is also a web series on Modi set to release soon.

Umesh Shukla, the director of Modi: Journey of a Common Man was quoted saying “This will come on the Internet. I don’t think that code of conduct is applied there”.

It makes one wonder if the fractions in the EC policies have enabled the getting away with a technicality in changing landscapes? 

On March 17, Indian Express reported that the EC had called for a meeting with the India heads of social media platforms like Google, Facebook, Twitter, WhatsApp, ShareChat and Tiktok on Tuesday, to discuss questions related to social media content during the Lok Sabha elections. This also included the pre-certification process for political advertisements, monitoring of content and the time limit for them to act on complaints.

The meeting came after the EC’s first takedown notice to Facebook regarding a Model Code of Conduct (MCC) violation on March 13. The EC issued a show cause notice to the legislator and asked Facebook’s Director Shivnath Thukral to have two political posters with Wing Commander Abhinandan Varthaman’s photograph shared by BJP leader and Delhi MLA Om Prakash Sharma, removed from Facebook.

However, nothing much seems to have come out of the meeting, as companies have found ways to get away with vague information.

These kinds of malpractices threaten the very nature of democracy and become even more dangerous when elections are at stake.

Apar Gupta asserted, “All one-sided information, disinformation, misinformation and non-information equally create an uninformed citizenry which makes democracy a farce when the medium of information is monopolised either by a partisan central authority or by private individuals or oligarchic organisations. When the electronic media is controlled by one central agency or few private agencies of the rich, there is a need to have a central agency, as stated earlier, representing all sections of the society.”

Last week, PM Modi addressed the nation on the Mission Shakti project through social media, using private channels. The speech was later picked up and broadcasted by Doordarshan and the All India Radio. Public announcements of this scale also constitute an MCC violation ahead of the elections.

Speaking to ICF, former IAS Kamal Jaswal said, “Prudence demands and is acted upon in times like these when the MCC is in operation, that government functionary, formally and informally consult the EC when they intend to make this announcement. If the Commission refuses then they refrain from doing so.” He recalled an instance when former PM Manmohan Singh wanted to address public officers but did not go ahead with it following EC’s advice.

One would expect that the EC would be looking sternly into these matters but a shocking revelation came on Friday when the Election Commission announced that Modi’s “Mission Shakti” address did not violate the MCC.

The EC committee, headed by Deputy Election Commissioner in charge of the MCC division, Sandeep Saxena came to the conclusion that Modi’s speech did not violate the guidelines because “he did not mention the BJP, nor did he appeal for votes” in the duration of his address. 
What is undeniable in all this is that the BJP has recourse to a devious way of doing things. It does not matter if the official media has picked up the feed from the private agencies because the outcome will still be the same. The laws are fixed in time, while the landscapes have changed, and the BJP has taken advantage of all the factions by resorting to subterfuge.

Courtesy: Indian Cultural forum

The post Elections 2019: Modi biopic and a trail of violations appeared first on SabrangIndia.

 
New Delhi: Former civil servants of the Constitutional Conduct Group wrote a letter to the Chief Election Commissioner Sunil Arora talking about the violation of the Model Code of Conduct arising from the release of biopics after the Model Code of Conduct for the general elections has come into force. They requested the Election Commission of India to take appropriate action under the powers vested in it by Article 324 of the Constitution of India. 
 
The biopic in question is based on PM Narendra Modi and the group confronted the commissioner with the ethical and moral dilemma of releasing such a visibly election propaganda film when the MCC has been issued.
 
“Our group of former civil servants of the All India and Central Services have interacted with the Election Commission from time to time on issues of public interest. We are now writing to you to draw your attention to a potential threat to the correct applicability of the Model Code of Conduct (MCC,)” they wrote.
 
“When even appointments to the Boards of Public Sector Undertakings are not permitted under the MCC, open advocacy of the role of the Prime Minister (or of any other candidate) in biopics or documentaries focused on the amount, in our view, to propaganda in favour of individuals belonging to particular political parties at a time when the MCC is in force,” they said.
 
“There are media reports that a biopic on our Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi, is being readied for release. The release was set for 12 April 2019, then, unexpectedly, it was brought forward to 5 April 2019. You will appreciate that such a film would create enormous electoral mileage for the Prime Minister and the party in power. It is, therefore, necessary to examine whether the release of this biopic after the announcement of elections and the coming into force of the MCC is consonant with the principles of a free and fair election. The same principle would apply to any similar biopic on any other candidate in the forthcoming elections since news reports mention a biopic on the president of the Indian National Congress, Shri Rahul Gandhi (though there is no mention of the date of release).” They said.
 
“It is especially required, under the MCC, 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.” 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,” they said, pointing out the collusion between film certification and the government.
 
“When expenditures on behalf of a candidate even without his/her formal permission are deemed to be counted as part of the expenses incurred by the candidate, 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,” they wrote.
 
They added that there was 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. “We, therefore, request the ECI to issue directions to withhold their release in cinema theatres or as home videos or on the Web (via YouTube, Netflix, Hotstar or similar channels) or via social media (Facebook, Twitter or any other) till the date when the MCC ceases to operate, i.e., on a date after 23 May 2019,” they said.
 
They wrote that in a catena of judgments both before and after the Association for Democratic Reforms v. Union of India” (2001), the Supreme Court has ruled that Article 324 of the Constitution of India operates in areas “left unoccupied by legislation” and the expressions “superintendence, direction and control” as well as “conduct of all elections” in Article 324 are the “broadest of terms”. Therefore, “the Commission can cope with a situation where the field is unoccupied by issuing necessary orders”. In other words, the ECI’s power under Article 324 is to be construed liberally and given its widest possible meaning, they said.
 

The post Modi biopic against Model Code of Conduct, say civil servants appeared first on SabrangIndia.