'Udta Punjab' row: Modi Govt. instructing Censor Board, alleges Kejriwal

Accusing the NDA government of having a hand in the 89 cuts in 'Udta Punjab', Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday alleged what else one could expect in Prime Minister Narendra Modi's regime.

"#UdtaPunjabCensored What else cud one expect in Modi regime?' he tweeted.

He further accused Censor Board chief Pahlaj Nihalani of censoring the film on the directions of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

"Pahlaj Nihalani's statement makes it amply clear that he has stopped the film on BJP's instructions," he added.

Nihalani earlier alleged that he had heard that co-producer Anurag Kashyap had taken money from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to show Punjab in a bad light through the film and said this was the talk in the industry.

Defending the decision to make a whopping 89 cuts from 'Udta Punjab', Nihalani earlier today asserted that he had made the cuts keeping the law and order situation of the state in mind and accused co-producer Anurag Kashyap of trying to take mileage from the entire controversy to promote this film.

Swatting of allegations of the CBFC swaying to political affiliations regarding the release of the film, he added that there was absolutely no truth to the charges, as the board was an individual entity free from any political ties, adding that the picture had been cleared and that the matter should end there.

Talking about the cuts made in the film, he said that if Kashyap has problems with the CBFC's decision then he was free to go to higher authorities and make his case, adding that he had nothing personal against the co-producer and that he was simply doing his job.

He also asserted he never said that the movie must not be released in Punjab, saying the movie highlighted the problems in the state and that now it had been cleared by the CBFC, it can be seen by everyone across the nation.

With Punjab due for assembly elections in January next year, the controversy has assumed political overtones.

The Congress and the AAP criticised the Censor Board and accused Punjab's ruling Shiromani Akali Dal-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) alliance of exercising influence to censor the movie.