CPM asks EC to switch off Mamatas star TV show

Films of actors Tapas Paul and Shatabdi Roy,Trinamool Congress candidates from Krishnagar and Birbhum,respectively,may soon be off the small screen,at least till the election process is over on May 16.

Films of actors Tapas Paul and Shatabdi Roy,Trinamool Congress candidates from Krishnagar and Birbhum,respectively,may soon be off the small screen,at least till the election process is over on May 16. The CPM has filed a petition with the Election Commission requesting for a ban on the telecast of their films on TV.

The telecast will give them an undue edge over their rivals. We have requested the EC to ban their films on TV till elections to ensure free and fair polls, Rabin Deb,CPM state committee member,pitted against

Trinamool chief Mamata Banerjee,told The Indian Express.

Roy,however,said she hoped their films would not be banned. Our films may not be shown on Doordarshan but they cannot be banned on private channels. I have heard that once I file my nomination papers,my film Dhaki will be withdrawn from Nandan. However,let me see what directive the commission gives on the issue, Roy said.

While Roy has acted in over 250 Bengali films,Tapas Paul,twice MLA from the Alipore constituency,has appeared in about 350 films. According to a Trinamool Congress leader,if their films are banned,private channels will find it difficult to show Bengali films at all.

State Chief Electoral Officer Debashis Sen said: The EC guideline says that after a cinema star files the nomination papers,his or her films cannot be shown on the Doordarshan. But there is no such restriction on private channels showing their films.

However,we have sent the complaint to the EC asking for a broad advisory, Sen added.

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