'People opposing movie Emergency trying to shield those who committed atrocities against Sikhs'

New Delhi, Oct 18 (PTI) Union minister Ravneet Singh Bittu on Friday said those opposing the movie "Emergency" are trying to protect people who committed atrocities against Sikhs.

In a statement, Bittu said nothing objectionable against Sikhs will be shown in the movie and all such portions have been removed from it after consultations with scholars from the community.

Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh who was killed by terrorists, said Sikh scholars have been consulted regarding objectionable scenes in the movie and all such portions have been removed from it through the censor board.

"There were some scenes in the movie 'Emergency' that I found objectionable as a Sikh and those scenes were not acceptable even to Sikhs and Punjabis.

"The objectionable parts of the film have been cut under the supervision of Sikh intellectual Sardar Vijay Satbir Singh, Chairman, Nanded Sahib Board, and Sardar Johal from Ludhiana. It was ensured that nothing offensive to the Sikh community will be shown in this movie," the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader said in his statement.

"But on the other hand, no one should raise issues about showing (former prime minister) Indira Gandhi's anti-Sikh misdeeds. The Sikh massacre done by late Indira Gandhi should be exposed in the public domain," he added.

The minister of state for railways said whatever happened during the Emergency or in 1984, be it the firing at Darbar Sahib or the anti-Sikh riots in Delhi and across the country, should be known to people.

"Those talking about stopping the movie 'Emergency', don't they want the atrocities against Sikhs and gurdwaras to be shown and made known to people? "Do they want to hide these big things that happened against Sikhs during Indira Gandhi's tenure?" he asked.

"Why are you opposing the movie? Don't you want to show that Indira Gandhi attacked Darbar Sahib? You don't want to show the 1984 massacre or about Sant Bhindranwale?" he also asked.

If anyone is trying to stop the movie, it means they do not want the wrongdoings against Sikhs during Gandhi's tenure to be shown to people, Bittu claimed.

".... By opposing the movie, you want to protect such people," he said in a video statement.

There has been a controversy over the release of "Emergency" and Sikhs are protesting against some objectionable portions in the film that go against the community. PTI SKC RC