Assam: Govt employees entitled for half-day special leave to watch 'The Kashmir Files', says CM Himanta Biswa Sarma

Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Tuesday said government employees in the state are "entitled for half-day special leave" to watch the recently-released movie 'The Kashmir Files'. The film is based on the exodus of Kashmiri Pandits from the Kashmir Valley in the 1990s.

Taking to Twitter, the Chief Minister wrote: "Glad to announce that our Govt employees will be entitled for half-day special leave to watch #TheKashmirFiles." "They will have to only inform their superior officers and submit the tickets the next day," he added.

Earlier in the day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi praised 'The Kashmir Files' for "bringing the truth in its correct form" and said history has to be presented in the right context from time to time.

The prime minister's ringing endorsement of the film while addressing a BJP Parliamentary Party meeting was echoed by Union minister Hardeep Singh Puri and Uttar Pradesh Deputy Chief Minister Keshav Prasad Maurya among others.

As debate around the movie escalated, the Uttar Pradesh government joined a host of states in declaring the film tax-free.

Slamming the "campaign to discredit" the Vivek Agnihotri directorial by those who claim to be the flagbearers of freedom of expression, Modi said there have been continuous efforts to "bury the truth".

"They are shocked that the truth that they tried to suppress is now coming out with the backing of facts and efforts," Modi said about the film at the centre of a political slugfest with the Congress and several other opposition parties objecting to it.

The video of the prime minister's speech was shared on Twitter by the BJP and several party leaders.

Released last week, "The Kashmir Files" stars Anupam Kher, Mithun Chakraborty and Pallavi Joshi. The film has been written by Agnihotri and produced by Zee Studios.

(With PTI inputs)

Published on: Tuesday, March 15, 2022, 11:24 PM IST