Assam CM Announces Half-Day Leave for Govt Staff To Watch 'The Kashmir Files'

Chhattisgarh CM said all MLAs, irrespective of their stand, have been invited to watch the movie today at 8 pm.

File Photo of Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma. 

(Photo Courtesy: Twitter/Himanta Biswa Sarma)

Assam Chief Minister (CM) Himanta Biswa Sarma announced on Tuesday, 15 March, that all state government employees are entitled to a half-day leave to watch the recently-released Hindi movie The Kashmir Files in theatres.

The CM tweeted:

“Glad to announce that our Govt employees will be entitled for half-day special leave to watch The Kashmir Files. They will have to only inform their superior officers and submit the tickets the next day.”

The movie is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits in the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s, and stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty, Puneet Issar, Amaan Iqbal, Pallavi Joshi, and others.

Earlier on Tuesday, Sarma said that he was moved by the “heart-wrenching” portrayal of the Kashmir Pandits when he watched the movie with Cabinet ministers.

He tweeted:

“The Kashmiri Pandit genocide and their exodus are a blot on humanity. Moved by the heart-wrenching portrayal of their plight in The Kashmir Files, which I watched along with my Cabinet colleagues and MLAs of @BJP4Assam and allies.”

Chhattisgarh CM Invites All MLAs To Watch Film Together

Chhattisgarh Chief Minister said on Wednesday, 16 March that all MLAs, irrespective of their stand on the movie, have been invited to watch the movie this evening at 8 pm.

He tweeted in Hindi, “Today all respected members of the Legislative Assembly (including government and Opposition) have been invited to watch the movie 'Kashmir Files' together. Tonight at 8 o'clock in a cinema hall in the capital, all of us MLAs/invited citizens will watch the film together.”

"Prime Minister Narendra Modi has shown interest in the movie The Kashmir Files. We will watch the movie and will definitely give a reaction on it," Baghel was quoted as saying.

Addressing a BJP Parliamentary Party meet on Tuesday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi had lauded the movie saying that there is an ongoing campaign to discredit it.

The film was declared tax-free by the Gujarat government on Sunday. The news was confirmed on social media by Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel.

Bihar Makes 'The Kashmir Files' Tax-Free

Bihar’s Deputy Chief Minister Tarkishore Prasad said on Wednesday that The Kashmir Files will be tax-free in the state and encouraged citizens to watch the movie. He tweeted,

“’The Kashmir Files’ is a film inspired by nationalism. In this film, there is an accurate depiction of the then situation and realities of Kashmir.”

He said, “This realistic situation should be easily accessible to the common people. ‘The Kashmir Files’ will be tax free in the entire state of Bihar, so that common people will be able to watch this film with ease and convenience.”

The states of Haryana, Karnataka, Madhya Pradesh, Tripura, Goa, and Uttar Pradesh have also declared the film tax-free.