Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu has received a “should-remain-within-his-limit” warning from one of the most prominent faces of the Bharatiya Janata Party in Punjab, Iqbal Singh Lalpura, betraying an unease within the party’s state unit over its stance on the Dijit Dosanjh-starrer Satluj.
The genesis of the public spat was Bittu’s challenge of the premise of the controversial movie — that 25,000 unidentified bodies had been secretly disposed of when the state was in the throes of militancy.
“If anywhere 25,000… the unidentified bodies they have talked about, if that data is true, let them show that list in front of you. Forget 25,000, I am saying even the data for 5,000, they should place it in the media, place it before their commission, and place it in the Supreme Court, high court,” the Union minister told NDTV earlier this week.
Lalpura trashed this assertion.
“Everybody should stay within their limit. When Jaswant Khalra (the activist on whom the film is based) spoke about the disappearances of 25,000 people, he gave a message. The claim was verified by the National Human Rights Commission. If Bittu Sahib wants the data, he can seek it from the NHRC (National Human Rights Commission),” Lalpura said.
Also read: ‘Playing With Fire’: Minister To NDTV On Satluj Screenings By Akali Dal
Lalpura, a former Indian Police Service officer, is among the three police officers who arrested militant leader Jarnail Singh Bhindranwale in connection with a clash involving members of the Nirankari sect.
Satluj was sent to the Censor Board in 2022. It was finally released on July 3 on the OTT platform ZEE5. Two days later, the platform took it down, saying it was exploring other avenues.
The film is based on the struggle of Khalra to unearth alleged extrajudicial killings when militancy was at its peak in Punjab.
Satluj’s filmmaker had claimed that the Censor Board had asked him to make 127 cuts.
Sources had told NDTV that certain portions in ‘Satluj’ could be misused by anti-India forces.
What Had Bittu Said
In his interview with NDTV, Bittu had refuted allegations that the Centre forced the film off streaming platforms, calling it a “manufactured narrative”.
“They tried to use the film to light a fire. I am saying exactly this: that there was no ban at all; this is propaganda. They put the film on OTT, uploaded it themselves and took it down themselves,” he said.
Bittu, the grandson of former Punjab chief minister Beant Singh, who was killed in a 1995 bomb blast, alleged that the makers of Satluj glorified Jaswant Singh Khalra’s life but failed to depict the challenges faced by civilians and security forces fighting extremism.
Also read: “Highlights Inhuman Torture, Sacrifice”: Sukhbir Badal Says Will Screen “Satluj”
Politics Over Satluj
The Shiromani Akali Dal and AAP have seized on the issue, especially in view of next year’s Assembly elections.
SAD chief Sukhbir Singh Badal has announced that his party will screen the film “Satluj” across towns and villages of Punjab to educate the younger generation about the atrocities on the Sikh community during the Congress rule.
Sikh bodies, including the Akal Takht and the Shiromani Gurdwara Prabandhak Committee, have also backed the movie.
