Censor Board row: Issue being politicised, says Anupam Kher

Former censor board chairman and veteran actor Anupam Kher on Saturday said that the allegations levelled by former censor board members against the government were not correct and added that the issue was being politicised.

"I think Leela Samson is wrong. She had been given an extension; if she was bothered by the interference, she should have resigned earlier. This issue is being politicized," said Kher.

Earlier in the day, Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Arun Jaitley dismissed the allegations of interference and corruption by former Censor Board members and said that the former should be loyal to the Government of India and not to any particular political party.

Jaitley also called the former Censor Board members "rebels without a case" in one of his articles.

He further accused the Congress of politicising the censor board.

Censor Board chief Leela Samson stepped down from her post earlier on Friday, amid controversy surrounding the clearance of controversial film "Messenger of God" featuring Dera Saccha Sauda chief Gurmeet Ram Rahim Singh and citing interference, coercion and corruption of panel members.

Nine other board members resigned following her resignation.