Govt defends censor decision on Aarakshan

New Delhi, Aug 12(PTI) Defending the censor board's
decision to allow the film "Aakarshan" release, the Indian
government on Friday ruled out any scope for intevention in
the matter.
"I am fully with the decision of the Censor Board... My
Ministry has no role or can intervene in it," Information and
Broadcasting Minister Ambika Soni told reporters on the
sidelines of a function here.
The Prakash Jha-directed film has created a constroversy
with three states banning its screening and Jha moving the
Supreme Court against the ban.
To a question why the I & B Ministry is not intervening,
Soni said "in the Cinematograph Act, there was some scope for
intervention earlier. But in 2000, that right was taken away
by the Supreme Court. As of today, the Ministry has no right
to intervene."
She said the Central Board of Film Certification is an
autonomous body and it had been reconstituted very recently.
Though it does not have full membership, it has started
working with 15/16 members.
The I&B Minister said "generally four people of the
board view a film before its release. But this time,
chairperson Leela Samson constituted a nine-member panel for
the film comprising representaives from Dalit, OBC, Scheduled
Caste and Scheduled Tribe. There is also a Dalit activist
Rajni Tilak and retired justice Mukul Mudgal."
She said because the name (Aakarshan) suggests that
there could be some element of controversy, that is why Leela
Samson took a decision to expand the board to nine members
which include important people reflecting all sections of the
society.