‘Bastar: The Naxal Story’ Screened In JNU; Poll Body Objects

The Rashtriya Kala Manch unit of the Jawaharlal Nehru University on Wednesday held a pre-release screening of a movie on the campus based on Naxalite insurgency with the varsity's poll body stating that no permission was granted for the event.

A pre-release screening of 'Bastar: The Naxalite Story' was organised at the Convention Centre auditorium here which faced several electricity cuts by the miscreants, the students alleged.

The event was attended by the film's director Sudipto Sen and main star cast Adah Sharma.

The varsity's Election Committee said that the film's screening was in violation of the partial code of conduct effective on the campus amid the ongoing JNUSU election process.

"It has come to the notice of the Election Committee that a movie titled 'Bastar: The Naxalite Story' was held at the Convention Centre on March 13, 2024. The Election Committee clarifies that no information was given or no permission was obtained for the event," Election Committee chairperson Shailendra Kumar said in a statement.

"The EC had informed the competent authority prior to the event that this event is in violation of the partial code of conduct for the JNUSU elections 2023-24," he added.

The screening met objections from the Left students groups who called it an attempt to promote propaganda ahead of the JNUSU elections.

"We stand against the screening of propaganda movie-Bastar. Shame on ABVP-admin nexus for promoting such propaganda movies," Left affiliated Democratic Students Federation (DSF) said in a statement.

"These are the same ABVP members who will be running for the upcoming JNUSU elections. It's extremely shameful that they are promoting propaganda which talks about killing students of the JNU openly," outgoing JNUSU president Aishe Ghosh said.

However, the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) denied organising the event stating that some of its members in individual capacity helped in coordinating the event.

The screening was held ahead of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students' Union (JNUSU) elections slated for March 22 and the declaration of results on March 24.

Currently, a partial code of conduct is in effect in the JNU which prohibits holding any event without prior permission from the Election Committee.