PHAGWARA: Shiv Sena Punjab, under the leadership of Senior State Vice Presidents Inderjit Karwal and Rajesh Palta, staged a strong protest against the release of the film Shahkot on the GT Road here today. Acting on the directives of Punjab President Sanjeev Dhanoli and Punjab Chairman Rajiv Tandon, the protesters burnt posters of the film and raised slogans against Pakistan.
During the protest, leaders Inderjit Karwal, Rajesh Palta, Chairman Narinder Nindi, Treasurer Vinod Gupta, and Phagwara City President Ankur Bedi expressed outrage, stating that slogans like "Pakistan Zindabad" and "Hindustan Murdabad" in the film deeply hurt the sentiments of Indians. They declared that such actions would not be tolerated under any circumstances.
The leaders criticized the censor board and demanded that the objectionable scenes be removed from the film. They also urged cinema owners not to screen Shahkot with anti-India slogans in their theaters. Karwal and Palta warned that if the film is shown in any theater with such content, Shiv Sena activists would stage strong protests against the theater owners and ensure the immediate cancellation of the screenings.
Shiv Sena leaders further warned that cinema owners would be held responsible for any unrest caused by the screening of the film. They also called for strict legal action against the film's producer and director, Guru Randhawa, and demanded an investigation into his assets from the Union Home Minister. The leaders remarked that some individuals benefit from Punjab but sing praises of Pakistan, and it is the government's responsibility to take action against them.
Prominent attendees included Trade Cell President Ashok Ahuja, Dinesh Bansal, Sunil Jalota, Laxman Das Suman, Rajneesh Soni, Gaurav Parmar, Gurpreet Gopi, Shamsher Bharti, Dinbandhu Pandey, Aman, Nishant Sharma, Raman Sharma, Manik Chand, Kundan Sharma, Navjot Bedi, and Omkar Sood.