Ruckus after Opposition leaders tear 'The Kashmir Files' tickets in Bihar assembly

A ruckus erupted in the Bihar assembly on Monday after the government distributed free tickets of ‘The Kashmir Files’and the opposition leaders tore the tickets.

New Delhi: Ruckus erupted in the Bihar assembly on Monday after the government distributed free tickets of ‘The Kashmir Files’ and arranged a special screening of the movie for all the MLAs while the opposition tore the tickets and alleged the ruling government of promoting communal agendas.

The tickets were distributed among the members after Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishor Prasad told the House that a complimentary show has been organised for all MLAs, a move that saw a grave protest by the members of the CPI(ML), the second-largest constituent of the opposition Grand Alliance.

The CPI(M) leaders then tore the tickets.

Speaker Vijay Kumar Sinha reacted asked the members to have respect for the glorious viraasat (legacy) of the House, and adjourned proceedings more than 30 minutes ahead of the lunch break scheduled at 1 PM.

Outside the House, members of both sides of the political spectrum freely vented their ire against their opponents.

“This is a clever attempt by the BJP to further its communal agenda. So many movies have been made in the past on all sorts of issues. Never before have we seen such efforts by governments to promote a film, CPI(ML) legislator Ajeet Kushwaha said.

Meanwhile, BJP MLAs slammed the opposition for being insensitive and asked the opposition to show some empathy towards the displaced Kashmiri Pandits whose brutalization at the hands of extremists has been shown in the movie in graphic detail.

BJP MLAs Haribhushan Thakur Bachaul and Sanjay Saraogi also alleged that the opposition "always creates a ruckus when we raise the issue of land meant for gaushalas (cowsheds) being captured by the mafia.

Addressing the concern that anti-muslim slogans were raised at the venue of Kashmir Files screenings, Sandip Saurav, a young CPI(ML) legislator and an alumnus of the JNU said that it is not a mere coincidence that there have been so many incidents of people shouting abusive slogans and even assaults on Muslims after watching the movie.

On the other hand, the Deputy CM of Bihar urged the opposition legislators not to have any preconceived notions about a well-intentioned movie

(With agency inputs)